Coupled multibody and contact-wear simulation for predicting barring formation in digital tribometer twins

Periodic polygonal wear patterns, often referred to as barring or chatter marks, are frequently observed in industrial systems and can be reproduced on twin-disc tribometers. Their onset and growth are closely linked to machine vibrations that interact with local contact conditions. While previous studies have combined multibody simulation dynamics and wear modelling using twin-disc data, none have fully integrated these elements under realistic dynamic excitation. We therefore present a coupled multibody and contact-wear simulation framework that predicts the initiation and evolution of barring. The core is a twin-disc contact model that captures the vibration-induced kinematic modulation (slip–roll transitions and microslip) and the spatially evolving surface topography due to wear. The model is embedded in a multibody simulation environment that supplies disc motions and loads from the system dynamics, enabling efficient co-simulation of machine vibrations, contact forces, and wear patterns. The model formulation, numerical implementation, and calibration procedure are presented and its capability to reproduce key signatures of barring on a twin-disc tribometer is demonstrated. The contact-wear model is formulated for seamless coupling to system-level multibody simulation models (e.g. models derived from structural dynamics simulation), providing the tribological core of a digital tribometer twin for model-based design and condition monitoring.