Finite element analysis of frictionally-excited thermoelastic instability in 3D annular disk

The that modifies the contact pressure distribution. If the sliding speed i s sufficiently high, this can lead to frictionally-excited thermoelastic in stability (TEI), characterized by major non-uniformities in pressure and te mperature. In automotive applications, a particular area of concern is the relation between thermoelastically induced hot spots in the brake disks and noise and vibration in the brake system. Numerical implementation of Burto n's perturbation analysis for thermoelastic instability in a two-dimensiona l model provides an extremely efficient method for determining the critical speed in simple sliding systems. In this paper, the two-dimensional model has been extended to an annular three-dimensional disk model in order to co nsider more realistic brake and clutch geometries and to provide more accur ate critical speed. The results show that the eigenmodes exhibit focal hot spots along the circumference on each side of the disk and the thin disk is more stable than the thick disk when both disk thickness are below the opt imal thickness.