The objective of this thesis is to develop a numerical model of the thermal-mechanical behavior of an automotive brake disc, in order to assess its fatigue behavior. The approach gathers : new numerical strategies which use eulerian algorithms adapted to problems involving components subjected to a moving load ; a relevant modeling of the behavior of the material ; durability criteria adapted to the different damages undergone by the disc, taking account of the multi-axial and non-isothermal characteristics of the loadings. A preliminary analysis of the physical phenomena occurring in the brake disc is led (high temperatures variations, severe thermal gradients in the disc, plastic deformations, friction, etc.) and their couplings (thermomechanical couplings, couplings between thermal phenomena and friction between the disc and the pads, etc. ) are analyzed. Then, a numerical modeling of the brake disc, based on realistic assumptions, can be proposed. This study can be realized thanks to the developments of new algorithms which save computational times. Their fundamental principle is to work not in the disc reference but in the loading's one and to use eulerian coordinates in order to represent the structure movement. These algorithms are described in the thesis. At last, a strategy is proposed to analyze the brake disc durability, based on a “consistent approach” which includes the modeling of the loading, the modeling of the material behavior, an efficient numerical structural strategy and relevant fatigue criteria. The objective is to reach the same “degree of precision” in the different items in order to have a robust and useful tool for engineers in charge of the brake disc design.
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