Study of temperature distribution of sliding block with asperity surface

In this study, a numerical thermal model is developed for sliding block contact under various loads, sliding velocities and surface roughness. The temperature distributions are shown for perfectly insulated thermal conditions along noncontact surfaces. For a particular five‐peaks contact model, the maximum temperature at the central peak is slightly lhigher than the others. The temperature profile decreases as the distance to the symmetry axis increases, and then decreases dramatically at the noncontact area. It is clear to see that the maximum temperature locates at the symmetry central peak of the asperity contact area instead of the leading head of the smooth surface. The maximum temperature rise parameter increases as the pressure, sliding velocity and asperity roughness increased or conductivity decreased. This phenomenon becomes obvious for cases at high pressure, velocity and roughness and low conductivity. Particularly, the influence of roughness is not significant for low velocity. Similar results are found for the maximum temperature rise parameter difference between peaks or peaks/valleys. The simulation results of this asperity surface sliding block contact model are able to provide essential information for the components of microelectro—mechanical systems (MEMS) and biochemical reaction mechanism. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.