Rubber friction on (apparently) smooth lubricated surfaces

We study rubber sliding friction on hard lubricated surfaces. We show that even if the hard surface appears smooth to the naked eye, it may exhibit short wavelength roughness, which may give the dominant contribution to rubber friction. That is, the observed sliding friction is mainly due to the viscoelastic deformations of the rubber by the substrate surface asperities. The presented results are of great importance for rubber sealing and other rubber applications involving (apparently) smooth surfaces.Comment: 7 pages, 15 figure

On the dependence of the leak-rate of seals on the skewness of the surface height probability distribution

Seals are extremely useful devices to prevent fluid leakage. We present experimental result which show that the leak-rate of seals depend sensitively on the skewness in the height probability distribution. The experimental data are analyzed using the critical-junction theory. We show that using the top-power spectrum result in good agreement between theory and experiment.Comment: 5 pages, 9 figure

Leak-rate of seals: comparison of theory with experiment

Seals are extremely useful devices to prevent fluid leakage. We present experimental results for the leak-rate of rubber seals, and compare the results to a novel theory, which is based on percolation theory and a recently developed contact mechanics theory. We find good agreement between theory and experiment.Comment: 6 pages, 10 figure

The luminosity function of the brightest galaxies in the IRAS survey

Results from a study of the far infrared properties of the brightest galaxies in the IRAS survey are described. There is a correlation between the infrared luminosity and the infrared to optical luminosity ratio and between the infrared luminosity and the far infrared color temperature in these galaxies. The infrared bright galaxies represent a significant component of extragalactic objects in the local universe, being comparable in space density to the Seyferts, optically identified starburst galaxies, and more numerous than quasars at the same bolometric luminosity. The far infrared luminosity in the local universe is approximately 25% of the starlight output in the same volume

Quantum size effect in Pb(100) films: the role of symmetry and implication for film growth

We show from density-functional calculations that Pb(100) thin films exhibit quantum size effect with a bilayer periodicity in film energies, film relaxations, and work functions, which originate from different symmetry of the stacking geometry of odd and even layer films. The bilayer periodicity of the film energy is argued to survive on a semiconductor substrate, which should allow the growth of ``magically'' thick even-layer Pb(100) films. Furthermore, it is found that the quantum well states in a simple metal film can be classified into $\sigma$-bonded and $\pi$-bonded states, which quantize independently

Fluid flow at the interface between elastic solids with randomly rough surfaces

I study fluid flow at the interface between elastic solids with randomly rough surfaces. I use the contact mechanics model of Persson to take into account the elastic interaction between the solid walls and the Bruggeman effective medium theory to account for the influence of the disorder on the fluid flow. I calculate the flow tensor which determines the pressure flow factor and, e.g., the leak-rate of static seals. I show how the perturbation treatment of Tripp can be extended to arbitrary order in the ratio between the root-mean-square roughness amplitude and the average interfacial surface separation. I introduce a matrix D(Zeta), determined by the surface roughness power spectrum, which can be used to describe the anisotropy of the surface at any magnification Zeta. I present results for the asymmetry factor Gamma(Zeta) (generalized Peklenik number) for grinded steel and sandblasted PMMA surfaces.Comment: 16 pages, 14 figure

Characteristics of UGC galaxies detected by IRAS

Infrared Astronomy Satellite (IRAS) detection rates at 60 microns were determined for the Uppsala General Catalog of Galaxies (Nilson 1973; the UCG). Late-type spirals, characterized by a normal IR/B ratio of approximately 0.6, are detected to a velocity of approximately 6000 km/s for L sub B = L sub *. Contrary to the situation for IRAS-selected galaxy samples, little evidence was found for a correlation between IR/B and 60/100 microns in this large optically-selected sample. Thus a significant fraction of the IRAS-measured far-infrared flux from normal spirals must originate in the diffuse interstellar medium, heated by the interstellar radiation field. Support was not found for Burstein and Lebofsky's (1986) conclusion that spiral disks are optically thick in the far-infrared