Effect of Temperature on Thermoelastic Instability in Thin Disks

A model of a thin annular plate sliding against an elastic foundation was developed and used to study thermoelastic instability (TEI) in clutches. The analysis examines the stability of the quasi-steady state solution of the governing equations by considering non-axisymmetric perturbations. The results indicate that above critical values of temperature and sliding speed the response of the plate becomes unstable and exhibits large deformations. Two mechanisms account for this behavior: thermal buckling and bending. It is shown that a conservative approximation of the stability boundaries can be constructed by computing only two points on the stability curve. The boundary between stable and unstable behavior depends on the material properties, geometry, and boundary conditions. The model was used to conduct a parametric study which indicates that stability of the sliding system can be improved by reducing the sliding speed, decreasing the modulus of elasticity of the plate, increasing the thermal conductivity, or increasing the thickness. In addition, for a range of sliding speeds, increasing the stiffness of the friction material improves the stability of the system. For speeds outside this range, increasing the stiffness makes the system less stable.