No Arabic abstract
In rubber friction studies it is often observed that the kinetic friction coefficient {mu} depends on the nominal contact pressure p. We discuss several possible origins of the pressure dependency of {mu}: (a) saturation of the contact area (and friction force) due to high nominal squeezing pressure, (b) non-linear viscoelasticity, (c) non-randomness in the surface topography, in particular the influence of the skewness of the surface roughness profile, (d) adhesion, and (e) frictional heating. We show that in most cases the non-linearity in the {mu}(p) relation is mainly due to process (e) (frictional heating), which softens the rubber, increases the area of contact, and (in most cases) reduces the viscoelastic contribution to the friction. In fact, since the temperature distribution in the rubber at time t depends on on the sliding history (i.e., on the earlier time t0 < t), the friction coefficient at time t will also depend on the sliding history, i.e. it is, strictly speaking, a time integral operator. The energy dissipation in the contact regions between solids in sliding contact can result in high local temperatures which may strongly affect the area of real contact and the friction force (and the wear-rate). This is the case for rubber sliding on road surfaces at speeds above 1 mm/s. In Ref. [14] we have derived equations which describe the frictional heating for solids with arbitrary thermal properties. In this paper the theory is applied to rubber friction on road surfaces. Numerical results are presented and compared to experimental data. We observe good agreement between the calculated and measured temperature increase.
We report on normal contact and friction measurements of model multicontact interfaces formed between smooth surfaces and substrates textured with a statistical distribution of spherical micro-asperities. Contacts are either formed between a rigid textured lens and a smooth rubber, or a flat textured rubber and a smooth rigid lens. Measurements of the real area of contact $A$ versus normal load $P$ are performed by imaging the light transmitted at the microcontacts. For both interfaces, $A(P)$ is found to be sub-linear with a power law behavior. Comparison to two multi-asperity contact models, which extend Greenwood-Williamson (J. Greenwood, J. Williamson, textit{Proc. Royal Soc. London Ser. A} textbf{295}, 300 (1966)) model by taking into account the elastic interaction between asperities at different length scales, is performed, and allows their validation for the first time. We find that long range elastic interactions arising from the curvature of the nominal surfaces are the main source of the non-linearity of $A(P)$. At a shorter range, and except for very low pressures, the pressure dependence of both density and area of micro-contacts remains well described by Greenwood-Williamsons model, which neglects any interaction between asperities. In addition, in steady sliding, friction measurements reveal that the mean shear stress at the scale of the asperities is systematically larger than that found for a macroscopic contact between a smooth lens and a rubber. This suggests that frictional stresses measured at macroscopic length scales may not be simply transposed to microscopic multicontact interfaces.
In this paper, we report on new experimental results on the effects of in-plane surface stretching on the friction of Poly(DiMethylSiloxane) (PDMS) rubber with smooth rigid probes. Friction-induced displacement fields are measured at the surface of the PDMS substrate under steady-state sliding. Then, the corresponding contact pressure and frictional stress distributions are determined from an inversion procedure. Using this approach, we show that the local frictional stress $tau$ is proportional to the local stretch ratio $lambda$ at the rubber surface. Additional data using a triangular flat punch indicate that $tau(lambda)$ relationship is independent on the contact geometry. From friction experiments using pre-stretched PDMS substrate, it is also found that the stretch-dependence of the frictional stress is isotropic, i.e. it does not depend on the angle between stretching and sliding directions. Potential physical explanations for this phenomenon are provided within the framework of Schallamachs friction model. Although the present experiments are dealing with smooth contact interfaces, the reported $tau(lambda)$ dependence is also relevant to the friction of statistically rough contact interfaces, while not accounted for in related contact mechanics models.
This paper reports on the frictional properties of smooth rubber substrates sliding against rigid surfaces covered with various densities of colloidal nano-particles (average diameter 77 nm). Friction experiments were carried out using a transparent Poly(dimethyl siloxane) (PDMS) rubber contacting a silica lens with silica nano-particles sintered onto its surface. Using a previously described methodology (Nguyen textit{et al.}, textit{J. of Adhesion} textbf{87} (2011) 235-250 ), surface shear stress and contact-pressure distribution within the contact were determined from a measurement of the displacement field at the surface of the PDMS elastomer. Addition of silica nano-particles results in a strong, pressure-independent enhancement of the frictional shear stress as compared to the smooth lens. The contribution of viscoelastic losses to these increased frictional properties is analyzed in the light of a numerical model that solves the contact problem between the rubber and the rough surface. An order-of-magnitude agreement is obtained between experimental and theoretical results, the latter showing that the calculation of viscoelastic dissipation within the contact is very sensitive to the details of the topography of the rigid asperities.
The response to a localized force provides a sensitive test for different models of stress transmission in granular solids. The elasto-plastic models traditionally used by engineers have been challenged by theoretical and experimental results which suggest a wave-like (hyperbolic) propagation of the stress, as opposed to the elliptic equations of static elasticity. Numerical simulations of two-dimensional granular systems subject to a localized external force are employed to examine the nature of stress transmission in these systems as a function of the magnitude of the applied force, the frictional parameters and the disorder (polydispersity). The results indicate that in large systems (typically considered by engineers), the response is close to that predicted by isotropic elasticity whereas the response of small systems (or when sufficiently large forces are applied) is strongly anisotropic. In the latter case the applied force induces changes in the contact network accompanied by frictional sliding. The larger the coefficient of static friction, the more extended is the range of forces for which the response is elastic and the smaller the anisotropy. Increasing the degree of polydispersity (for the range studied, up to 25%) decreases the range of elastic response. This article is an extension of a previously published letter [1].
The goal of this paper is to investigate the normal and tangential forces acting at the point of contact between a horizontal surface and a rolling ball actuated by internal point masses moving in the balls frame of reference. The normal force and static friction are derived from the equations of motion for a rolling ball actuated by internal point masses that move inside the balls frame of reference, and, as a special case, a rolling disk actuated by internal point masses. The masses may move along one-dimensional trajectories fixed in the balls and disks frame. The dynamics of a ball and disk actuated by masses moving along one-dimensional trajectories are simulated numerically and the minimum coefficients of static friction required to prevent slippage are computed.