Frictionless and "frictional" ThermoElastic Dynamic Instability (TEDI) of sliding contacts

Recently, we found that a new form of coupled instability, named ThermoElastic Dynamic Instability (TEDI), can occur by interaction between frictional heating and the natural dynamic modes of sliding bodies. This is distinct from the classical dynamic instabilities (DI) which is produced by an interaction between the frictional forces at the sliding interface and the natural modes of vibration of the bodies if the friction coefficient is sufficiently high, and also from ThermoElastic Instability (TEI), which is due to the interaction of frictional heating and thermal expansion, leading for example to low pitched brake noise above some critical speed. This result was relative to an highly idealized system, comprising an elastic layer sliding over a rigid plane including both dynamic and thermoelastic effects, but neglecting shear waves at the interface due to frictional tractions (from which the denomination "frictionless TEDI"). We demonstrate here that including these shear waves destabilizes both the shear and dilatational vibration modes of the system at arbitrarily small friction coefficients and speeds, where DI and TEI are predicted to be stable. A detailed study of the new modes and transient simulations show that for low pressures and high speed, the system tends towards the results of the previous model ("frictionless TEDT''), i.e. the tendency to a state in which the layer bounces over the plane, with alternating periods of sliding contact and separation. In the case of low speeds and high pressures, viceversa, the system is dominated by the modes near the resonance of the shear and dilatational modes, with a resulting complex behaviour, but generally leading to stick-slip regimes, reducing the jumping mode of "frictionless TEDI'', because stick reduces or stops frictional heating production. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.