Effect of Wear on Frictionally Excited Thermoelastic Instability

The effect of wear on Thermoelastic Instability (TEI) is investigated using a finite element approach. The equations of thermoelasticity, the classical wear law and the conforming contact conditions are considered. The method is based on a two-dimensional, frictional sliding model with a bimaterial interface and a simplified geometry of finite thickness. An assumption of the solution in the perturbation form leads to a quadratic eigenvalue problem. The existing analytical solutions using two infinite half planes are employed to validate the numerical solutions for several representative scenarios, including a limiting case in the absence of wear. The analytical solutions are also sought for the special cases when one of the materials is a non-conductor and when the two materials are identical, for the purpose of comparison. In general, the satisfactory agreements between the numerical and analytical approaches have been obtained. However, there are noticeable discrepancies when the wear rates of the two materials are sufficiently close to each other and when the wear rates are much greater than the critical rate. It is confirmed that wear may suppress or amplify the effect of TEI. This is consistent with the recent research findings on the same topic via an analytical approach.