Mutual interference of two subsurface cracks in a semi-infinite body due to rolling contact with frictional heating

This paper deals with the two-dimensional thermoelastic contact problem of a rolling rigid roller of specified shape, which induced of friction and heat generation in the contact region, moving with constant velocity in an elastic half-space containing a couple of subsurface cracks. In the present temperature analysis, the speed of the moving heat source is assumed to be much greater than the ratio of the thermal diffusivity and the half contact length. The problem is solved using complex-variable techniques and is reduced to singular integral equations which are solved numerically. Numerical results of stress intensity factors are obtained for the case of two short cracks which are located parallel to the surface. The variance in interference effects on the stress intensity factors with the distance between two cracks, and the effects of the frictional coefficient, the sliding/rolling ratio and the depth of the crack location on the results are considered.