Nonlinear Transient Behavior of a Sliding System With Frictionally Excited Thermoelastic Instability

A transient finite element simulation is developed for the two-dimensional thermoelastic contact problem of a stationary layer between two sliding layers, with frictional heat generation. The Petrov-Galerkin algorithm is used to discretize the sliding layers because of the high Peclet numbers involved. The results in the linear, full contact regime were validated by comparison with the analytical predictions of Lee and Barber (1993). After separation occurs, there is a non-monotonic transition to a steady state with the contact regions separated by the same wavelength. During the transition, the migration speed exhibits values lower than those in either the linear regime or the final steady state. When several wavelengths are unstable, the final steady state is generally that corresponding to the longest unstable wavelength, even though other modes have more rapid growth rates in the linear regime.