Thermoelastic instability including surface roughness effects

A thermoelastic instability (TEI) analysis is presented for determining the threshold of instability in f friction pain consisting of a conducting surface rubbing against a rough surface with very low thermal conductivity. The theory predicts that TEI is initiated when the operating speed exceed a limiting value of U(super *) given by: U(super*) / U(sub s) = 1 + lambda [Mathematical Expression Not Reproducible in the ASCII] Where U(sub s) is identical to the critical equation developed by Burton (1980) for highly loaded surfaces in contact defined at: U(sub s) = 2 omega k(sub s)/f alpha E. The dimensionless parameters on the right-hand-side of the above equation emerge from the consideration of the surface roughness and are defined as lambda = sigma omega E/2 chi, and [Mathematical Expression Not Reproducible in the ASCII] = H(sub o)/F'. The results indicate that the magnitude of the applied load and the surface roughness characteristics tend to play an important role in the prediction of the onset of TEI instability.