Modeling and simulation of high speed sliding

We analyze the processes of thermal softening, melting and subsequent melt lubrication that occur during the high speed sliding of a metal piece on another metal block. The temperature rise in the slider arising from both high speed interface friction and from the energy dissipated during plastic deformations is computed using simple analysis and the finite element method. Subsequently, we propose a mathematical model for the transient lubrication problem that describes the behavior of the molten film at the slider–rail interface. This model successfully predicts the evolution process of the melt thickness and the melt front velocity of the liquid film; these predictions agree with the experimentally observed dynamics of molten film better than those from other existing models.