Abstract :
This paper proposes that thermally-dominated failure of sliding contacts is likely to occur at a temperature that is intrinsic to the particular material. The value of that temperature depends, essentially, on the sliding speed, the temperature coefficient of conductivity and the number of contacting asperity pairs. Based on this conjecture, a set of thermal compatibility equations is proposed and a method of constructing a so-called temperature operation maps (TOMs) is demonstrated. The TOM is a plot that predicts the onset of thermally-dominated failure during rubbing. Failure temperatures predicted by the TOM for an aluminum (AL-A356)–steel SAE 52100 sliding pair were compared to experimentally determined temperatures, reported elsewhere, and were found to be in good agreement. As such, it is proposed that thermal matching of sliding materials should be attempted, such that the maximum expected temperature rise, due to friction heat, is equal to or is in close proximity to the critical temperatures of each of the rubbing materials as predicted by the particular TOM.
