Modeling and analysis of transient temperature field in finite thickness plate under symmetrically located moving heat sources

The thermal problem of plate slides against symmetrically located contacting pads is investigated. The aim is to find out the influences of plate thickness, moving speed, and convection on the temperature field of the plate. Proper models and computing methods for specific situations can be determined based on these analyses. Finite element method of moving heat input is used to calculate the temperature field which is validated by comparing with some existing analytical solutions. The results show that the characteristic time for the steady state of temperature can be approximated exponentially as a function of moving speed. If the plate is thinner than the critical thickness, the surface temperature is increased significantly, which means that the temperature field is very sensitive to the plate thickness in this situation. The increasing moving speed increases the peak surface temperature almost linearly, and the convection outside of the contact area can decrease the peak surface temperature significantly if the heat sources move slowly, while it hardly affects the peak surface temperature if the heat sources move fast. Based on these results, the criterion of choosing a model and computing methods for studying the temperature fields in the similar structures is established.