APPROXIMATE SOLUTION OF THE THERMOELASTIC CONTACT PROBLEM WITH FRICTIONAL HEATING IN THE GENERAL-CASE OF THE PROFILE SHAPE

The steady-state thermoelastic contact problem in which heat is genera ted due to sliding Friction at the interface between an axi-symmetric thermally conducting punch and non-conducting half-space has been cons idered by Barber [(1976) Some thermoelastic contact problems involving frictional heating. Quart. J. Mech. Appl. Math. 29, 1-13] and Yevtush enko and Kulchytsky-Zhyhailo [(1995) Determination of limiting radii o f the contact area in axi-symmetric contact problems with friction;dl heat generation. J. Mech. Phys. Solids 43, 599-604]. It was shown that there exists some limiting value of the contact circle radius with in crease of the total load. The present paper gives the approximate solu tion of this problem in the general case of the punch profile form. Th e approximate solution was developed based on the representation of th e thermally deformed solid by a quadratic surface.