Study of the true contact area of sheared elastomer/glass contacts using an optical method

Nous utilisons une méthode optique récemment développé pour mesurer l'aire de contact réelle à l'interface entre une surface élastomère et une plaque de verre. Nous montrons d'abord que l'aire de contact réelle diminue significativement sous cisaillement. Ensuite, nous comparons nos mesures avec deux modèles de la littérature. Nous utilisons ces résultats pour mieux comprendre le comportement des interfaces multicontacts cisaillées

Continuum contact models for coupled adhesion and friction

We develop two new continuum contact models for coupled adhesion and friction, and discuss them in the context of existing models proposed in the literature. Our new models are able to describe sliding friction even under tensile normal forces, which seems reasonable for certain adhesion mechanisms. In contrast, existing continuum models for combined adhesion and friction typically include sliding friction only if local contact stresses are compressive. Although such models work well for structures with sufficiently strong local compression, they fail to capture sliding friction for soft and compliant systems (like adhesive pads), for which the resistance to bending is low. This can be overcome with our new models. For further motivation, we additionally present experimental results for the onset of sliding of a smooth glass plate on a smooth elastomer cap under low normal loads. As shown, the findings from these experiments agree well with the results from our models. In this paper we focus on the motivation and derivation of our continuum contact models, and provide a corresponding literature survey. Their implementation in a nonlinear finite element framework as well as the algorithmic treatment of adhesion and friction will be discussed in future work

Tactile perception of randomly rough surfaces

Most everyday surfaces are randomly rough and self-similar on sufficiently small scales. We investigated the tactile perception of randomly rough surfaces using 3D-printed samples, where the topographic structure and the statistical properties of scale-dependent roughness were varied independently. We found that the tactile perception of similarity between surfaces was dominated by the statistical micro-scale roughness rather than by their topographic resemblance. Participants were able to notice differences in the Hurst roughness exponent of 0.2, or a difference in surface curvature of 0.8 mm−1 for surfaces with curvatures between 1 and 3 mm−1. In contrast, visual perception of similarity between color-coded images of the surface height was dominated by their topographic resemblance. We conclude that vibration cues from roughness at the length scale of the finger ridge distance distract the participants from including the topography into the judgement of similarity. The interaction between surface asperities and fingertip skin led to higher friction for higher micro-scale roughness. Individual friction data allowed us to construct a psychometric curve which relates similarity decisions to differences in friction. Participants noticed differences in the friction coefficient as small as 0.035 for samples with friction coefficients between 0.34 and 0.45

Tactile perception of randomly rough surfaces

Most everyday surfaces are randomly rough and self-similar on sufficiently small scales. We investigated the tactile perception of randomly rough surfaces using 3D-printed samples, where the topographic structure and the statistical properties of scale-dependent roughness were varied independently. We found that the tactile perception of similarity between surfaces was dominated by the statistical micro-scale roughness rather than by their topographic resemblance. Participants were able to notice differences in the Hurst roughness exponent of 0.2, or a difference in surface curvature of 0.8 mm−1 for surfaces with curvatures between 1 and 3 mm−1. In contrast, visual perception of similarity between color-coded images of the surface height was dominated by their topographic resemblance. We conclude that vibration cues from roughness at the length scale of the finger ridge distance distract the participants from including the topography into the judgement of similarity. The interaction between surface asperities and fingertip skin led to higher friction for higher micro-scale roughness. Individual friction data allowed us to construct a psychometric curve which relates similarity decisions to differences in friction. Participants noticed differences in the friction coefficient as small as 0.035 for samples with friction coefficients between 0.34 and 0.45

Effect of coating thickness on the friction properties of rubber-sphere on rubber-coated-plane contacts

Nous présentons une étude expérimentale du frottement d'un contact entre une sphère caoutchouteuse et une lame de verre revêtue d'un film de caoutchouc d'épaisseur variable. Nous montrons que le dépôt joue un rôle clé dans les propriétés de rupture de l'interface de contact : des variations d'un facteur trois du coefficient de frottement statique sont observées lorsque l'épaisseur est modifiée. Certaines interprétations sont discutées pour expliquer le phénomène impliquant notamment le rôle de la viscoélasticité du caoutchouc

Mise en glissement des interfaces multicontacts élastomères : étude expérimentale par visualisation in situ

The onset of sliding of a contact interface is a phenomenon the space-time dynamics of which are still poorly understood. In this thesis, we have developed and implemented an original experimental device allowing us to visualize in situ the local phenomena involved during the onset of sliding of rough elastomer interfaces, with a good temporal resolution. We have shown a strong reduction of the real contact area within a sheared contact interface, well before the beginning of macroscopic sliding. This reduction affects the value of the static friction force of the interface. We have shown that the parameter that quantifies the amplitude of the reduction obeys a well-defined scaling law ranging from millimetric mono-contacts to the micrometric junctions involved in rough interfaces. We have then shown that the shear strength of an interface is not a constant for a couple of materials in contact. Indeed, by systematically changing the thickness of an elastic coating on one of the bodies in contact, we could vary the value of the shear strength by a factor three. This effect is interpreted semi-quantitatively via a model incorporating dissipation both at the interface and in the bulk of the materials. We have finally shown that the space-time dynamics of the onset of sliding is influenced by the torque applied to the interface by the friction force, when the latter is not exerted in the plane of the interface. In particular, via a digital image correlation-based measurement, we performed the first quantitative comparison with a recent model describing this torque effect.La mise en glissement d’une interface de contact est un phénomène dont la dynamique spatiotemporelle est encore mal comprise. Dans cette thèse, nous avons développé et mis en oeuvre un dispositif expérimental original permettant de visualiser in situ les phénomènes locaux en jeu lors de la mise en glissement d’interfaces rugueuses élastomères, avec une bonne résolution temporelle. Nous avons mis en évidence une forte réduction de l’aire de contact réelle au sein d’une interface de contact sous cisaillement, et ce bien avant le début du glissement macroscopique. Cette réduction influence la valeur de la force de frottement statique de l’interface. Nous avons montré que le paramètre qui quantifie l’amplitude de la réduction vérifie une loi d’échelle valable largement, allant des monocontacts millimétriques jusqu’aux jonctions micrométriques impliquées dans les interfaces rugueuses. Nous avons ensuite montré que la contrainte de cisaillement critique de mise en glissement d’une interface n’est pas une constante pour un couple de matériaux en contact. En effet, en changeant systématiquement l’épaisseur d’un revêtement élastique sur l’un des corps en contact, on peut varier cette contrainte d’un facteur trois. Cet effet est interprété semi-quantitativement via un modèle couplant dissipation à l’interface et dans le volume des matériaux. Nous avons enfin montré que la dynamique spatio-temporelle de mise en glissement est influencée par le couple appliqué à l’interface par la force de frottement, lorsque celle-ci n’est pas exercée dans le plan de l’interface. En particulier, via une mesure du champ de déplacement par corrélation d’images, nous avons réalisé la première comparaison quantitative avec un modèle récent décrivant cet effet de couple