Plane Thermoelastic Waves in Infinite Half-Space Caused


FACTA UNIVERSITATIS  

Series: Mechanical Engineering Vol. 13, N
o
 1, 2015, pp. 1 - 2 

FOREWORD TO THE THEMATIC ISSUE: 

TRIBOLOGY IN AEROSPACE APPLICATIONS – DAMPING, WEAR 

AND STRUCTURAL DYNAMICS IN AEROSPACE SYSTEMS 

Valentin L. Popov
1
, Sergey G. Psakhie

2
, Alexander G. Chernyavsky

3

1
Berlin Institute of Technology, Department of System Dynamics and the Physics of Friction, 

10623 Berlin, Germany 
2
Institute of Strength Physics and Materials Science, Russian Academy of Sciences, 

634021 Tomsk, Russia 
3
RKK “Energia” 

EDITORIAL 

Dynamics and tribology are of high relevance for aerospace structures. As examples 

may be mentioned: 1) unfolding systems for antenna designs of spaceships: drives, gears, 

cylindrical and ball bearing, orientation systems; 2) development of systems for solar 

panels for spacecraft "Progress" and modules of the International Space Station. In these 

systems, structural dynamics and tribological problems are closely interrelated (Fig. 1). 

For the description and optimization of such systems theoretical and experimental 

investigations of the structural dynamics in the context of the mechanics of tribological 

interfaces taking into account the material behavior under high vacuum and partly even in 

extreme temperatures are required. These problems have been discussed during the 

German-Russian Workshop on “Tribology in aerospace applications: damping, wear and 

structural dynamics in aerospace systems”, which was held at the Technische Universität 

Berlin October 6-8, 2014.  

In the center of interest of the workshop were issues at the interfaces between 

structural dynamics, contact mechanics, material science, friction, wear, modeling and 

simulation. An important issue is the coupling of simulation methods of different scales. 

The main topics of the workshop included: 

 Materials science aspects of tribology,

 Discrete element and molecular dynamics,

 Method of Dimensionality Reduction,

 Coupling simulation methods of different scales,

 Tribology at low temperatures,

 Polymer materials for friction systems in vacuum technology, and,

 System dynamics and tribology: needs of aerospace technologies.

After discussion of the presentations and the round table discussion concerning 

tribology in aerospace applications, the participants of the workshop came to the 

conclusion that the dynamic modelling of aerospace structures is a topic of high practical 

Editorial



2 V. L. POPOV, S. G. PSAKHIE, A. G. CHERNYAVSKY 

and scientific interest. Of particular interest is structural damping in joints and inside the 

material. Effective simulation methods for frictional interfaces, such as the method of 

dimensionality reduction [1], should be combined with fast finite element simulation 

methods [2] of entire structures as well as material analysis via mesoscopic particle 

methods such as Method of Movable Cellular Automata (MCA), [3]. Other topics of 

interest are the degradation and internal friction in composite materials under spaceflight 

conditions, and testing of bio-inspired adhesive and other tribological materials under 

space conditions.  

 

Fig. 1 International Space Station: the space structures contain thousands of tribological 

interfaces, © RKK Energia 

The present thematic issue contains a collection of papers presented during the 

workshop with the main emphasis to adhesion, friction, interrelation of friction and 

vibrations and energy dissipation in systems with tribological contacts. 

REFERENCES  

1. Popov, V.L., Hess, M.., 2015, Method of dimensionality rediction in contact mechanics and friction, 

Springer, 264 pp.   

2. Marinkovic, D., Zehn, M., Marinkovic, Z., 2012, Finite element formulations for effective computations of 

geometrically nonlinear deformations, Advances in Engineering Software, 50, pp. 3-11. 

3. Psakhie, S.G,  Horie, Y., Ostermeyer, G.P., Korostelev, S.Yu. Smolin, A.Yu., Shilko, E.V., Dmitriev, 

A.I., Blatnik, S., Špegel, M., Zavšek S., 2001, Movable cellular automata method for simulating 

materials with mesostructure, Theoretical and applied fracture mechanics, 37 (1), pp. 311-334.