Dynamic In Situ Measurements of Frictional Heating on an Isolated Surface Protrusion

Problems in the subject of frictional heating have been studied extensively, yet their complexity remains a barrier to further understanding. This study simplifies the frictional heating problem by examining the temperature rise due to a heat source of prescribed geometry. A single positive feature on the sliding face of the countersurface causes a local temperature rise. The cylindrical feature has a diameter of 150 µm and aspect ratio of 0.1 and slides under the larger contact area whose contact width is ~600 to ~750 µm. An infrared camera, acquiring at 870 Hz, observed the temperature rise at the contact interface between the feature and the rubber pin. The applied force for all tests was 200 mN, and the sliding velocity was varied from 10 to 200 mm/s. Maximum temperature rises of ~1–17 °C and average temperature rises of ~1–8 °C were measured. Measured values were compared to the Jaeger’s frictional heating models for sliding contacts.