Analysis of frictional contacts with heat generation considering temperature dependent properties

• The problem of thermoelastic contact is investigated.
• Frictional heat causes the change of material thermoelastic properties.
• Iterative code is developed and implemented by using finite element analysis.
• Comparative study is made for the contact stress and temperature distributions.

The problem of thermoelastic contact for the homogenous isotropic half-plane with a sliding rigid flat punch problem is investigated. As the rigid flat punch is assumed to slide over the surface of the material, heat is generated due to the friction between the punch and a surface. This heat causes the change of material thermoelastic properties and this change is taken into account in this work by using temperature dependent material properties. In order to obtain the steady state solution, frictional heat in the contact surface must be in equilibrium. Hence, an iterative code is developed and implemented to solve this problem by using finite element analysis. The steady state results for the contact of homogenous isotropic half-plane with a rigid flat punch are obtained. Moreover, comparative study is made for the contact stress and temperature distributions.