Modeling polymer-metal frictional interface using multi-asperity contact theory

Abstract

This paper introduces a frictional contact model of a hard rough surface on an elastic substrate using the multi-asperity contact theory considering the effect of the elastic substrate deformation on the friction coefficient. A simplified version of the developed contact model is also presented in differential equation form, characterized by physical parameters to simulate pre-slip and slide state motion. The proposed models' parameters are functions of the rough interface's primary contact characteristics, i.e., slippage friction force, maximum pre-slip displacement limit, and initial tangential interface stiffness. The advantage of the proposed contact model is that its parameters are physically meaningful and are determined analytically or in some practical applications identified experimentally using the measured hysteresis loops. The capabilities of the proposed model are investigated numerically, and it is validated experimentally.