In this three-dimensional model both the brake pad and the disk are deformable bodies. It is the most general and user-friendly approach to define contact simulations. Coupled thermal-mechanical interactions are included as both of the surfaces are deformable. The disk is made of steel, and the pad is modeled as a resin-bonded composite material. There are 408 8-node brick elements used to model the disk and the pad.
Heat is generated by friction between the pad and the disk.
The simulation assumes that all of the energy dissipated by friction turns into heat. The part of the brake pad away from the disk is restrained in the nonaxial degrees of freedom and is loaded with an axial pressure. The disk is rotated by prescribing its angular velocity over two complete revolutions. Half-symmetry is exploited. Temperature contours in the disk.