The Measurement of Surface Temperature in Dry or Lubricated Sliding

Abstract

This paper describes the development and calibration of an original test apparatus to study the effect of frictional heating on lubricant effectiveness. The configuration used the Seebeck effect between a stainless steel ball and a disk of tool steel. Good agreement was found between the average temperature rise indicated by the thermoelectric voltage and Archard’s models. Surface temperature rises approaching 200°C were obtained in lubricated contact and an upper bound temperature of 830°C was found in dry contact. The likely effect of track heating was assessed by analysis and, for this configuration, was found to be negligible. A slight lag was found between a local increase of friction due to the passage of an asperity and the thermal response.