A thermo-mechanical modelling of the Tribological Transformations of Surface

The Tribological Transformations of Surface (TTS) are observed on samples of certain steels undergoing repeated compressive loadings. They correspond to a permanent, solid-solid phase transformation localized on the surfaces of the sample on which the loading is applied. The main hypothesis of the study is that TTS are not only due to the mechanical loading but also to the thermal loading which is associated to. Thus, a thermo-mechanical model is first proposed in the present paper, which is inspired by previous works on TRansformation Induced Plasticity (TRIP). The potentialities of the model are also briey illustrated by a simple 1D example. Les Transformations Tribologiques de Surface (TTS) sont observees sur des echantillons de certains aciers soumis a des chargements compressifs repetes. Elles correspondent a des changements de phase solide-solide irreversibles localises sur les surfaces mecaniquement sollicitees des echantillons. L'hypothese centrale de cette etude est que les TTS ne sont pas dus au seul chargement mecanique mais egalement au chargement thermique qui l'accompagne. Un modele thermo-mecanique est ainsi propose, qui s'inspire de travaux anterieurs sur la plasticite de transformation (TRIP). Un exemple (1D) illustratif des potentialites de ce modele est egalement presente.