THE INTERACTION OF FRICTIONAL HEATING AND WEAR AT A TRANSIENT SLIDINGCONTACT

A solution of the axisymmetric contact problem for a half-space is obt ained taking into account transient heat generation due to friction an d wear, assuming a quadratic variation of the normal displacements alo ng the radial coordinate. The problem is reduced to a non-linear Volte rra integral equation in the dimensionless radius of the contact area. Asymptotic solutions of this equation are constructed for short and l ong periods of time, and a numerical algorithm is also developed for i nvestigating it in the general case. The proposed mathematical methods enable the effect on the dimensions of the contact region of two proc esses of opposite kind, namely, frictional heating and wear, to be inv estigated.