Thermomechanical modeling and transient analysis of sliding contacts between an elastic-plastic asperity and a rigid isothermal flat

To investigate thermomechanical contacts between an elastic-plastic sphere and a rigid flat, simulations with slip rates ranging from 0.1 m/s to 10 m/s were performed. As interfaces with strong interfacial bonding but weak substrate were specifically targeted, slip initiation was treated as shear failure of the softer material in numerical simulations. The simulations show that both sliding friction coefficient and friction stress are significantly dependent on slip rate while the maximum static friction coefficient is independent of that. Moreover, the energy release during the transition from full stick to full slip is comparable to the shear fracture energy of the material.