A Three-Dimensional Thermal-Mechanical Asperity Contact Model for Two Nominally Flat Surfaces in Contact

The rough surface contact in a tribological process involves frictional heating and thermoelastic deformations. A three-dimensional thermal-mechanical asperity contact model has been developed, which takes into account steady-state heat transfer, asperity distortion due to thermal and elastic deformations, and material yield. The finite-element method (FEM), fast Fourier transform (FFT), and conjugate gradient method (CGM) are employed as the solution methods. The model is used to analyze the thermal-mechanical contact of typical rough surfaces and investigate the importance of thermal effects on the contact performance of surface asperities.