scholarly journals The effect of autocorrelation length on the real area of contact and friction behavior of rough surfaces

2005 ◽  
Vol 97 (10) ◽  
pp. 103526 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yilei Zhang ◽  
Sriram Sundararajan
Author(s):  
Yilei Zhang ◽  
Sriram Sundararajan

Autocorrelation Length (ACL) is a surface roughness parameter that provides spatial information of surface topography that is not included in amplitude parameters such as Root Mean Square roughness. This paper presents a statistical relation between ACL and the real area of contact, which is used to study the adhesive friction behavior of a rough surface. The influence of ACL on profile peak distribution is studied based on Whitehouse and Archard’s classical analysis, and their results are extended to compare profiles from different surfaces. With the knowledge of peak distribution, the real area of contact of a rough surface with a flat surface can be calculated using Hertzian contact mechanics. Numerical calculation shows that real area of contact increases with decreasing of ACL under the same normal load. Since adhesive friction force is proportional to real area of contact, this suggests that the adhesive friction behavior of a surface will be inversely proportional to its ACL. Results from microscale friction experiments on polished and etched silicon surfaces are presented to verify the analysis.


It is well known that even under very heavy loads the hills on rough surfaces are not completely flattened. Many workers have advanced possible reasons for this remarkable persistence of the surface asperities. The most commonly advocated mechanisms are examined, and it is demonstrated that none of them provides an adequate explanation of the phenomenon. The plastic indentation of a flat by a hard ball is then studied, and the real area of contact is measured directly using high resolution profilometry. It is concluded that asperity persistence does not depend on the particular metal in contact. Nor is it an intrinsic property of the individual hills on the surface; there is no evidence that work hardening during the crushing of asperities can form a hardened surface layer which leads to a smaller contact area, as is commonly supposed. It is shown that, for local indentations, the degree of contact, i. e. the ratio of real to nominal area, is in general independent of the load. Whenever the surface layers are harder than the bulk the degree of contact is typically between one quarter and one third. However, when the indented body has a uniform hardness the degree of contact was found to be accurately equal to one-half.


1991 ◽  
Vol 113 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Majumdar ◽  
B. Bhushan

Roughness measurements by optical interferometry and scanning tunneling microscopy on a magnetic thin-film rigid disk surface have shown that its surface is fractal in nature. This leads to a scale-dependence of statistical parameters such as r.m.s height, slope and curvature, which are extensively used in classical models of contact between rough surfaces. Based on the scale-independent fractal roughness parameters, a new model of contact between isotropic rough surfaces is developed. The model predicts that all contact spots of area smaller than a critical area are in plastic contact. When the load is increased, these plastically deformed spots join to form elastic spots. Using a power-law relation for the fractal size-distribution of contact spots, the model shows that for elastic deformation, the load P and the real area of contact Ar are related as P~Ar(3−D)/2, where D is the fractal dimension of a surface profile which lies between 1 and 2. This result explains the origins of the area exponent which has been the focus of a number of experimental and theoretical studies. For plastic loading, the load and area are linearly related. The size-distribution of spots also suggests that the number of contact spots contributing to a certain fraction of the real area of contact remains independent of load although the spot sizes increase with load. The model shows that the load-area relation and the fraction of the real area of contact in elastic and plastic deformation are quite sensitive to the fractal roughness parameters.


2013 ◽  
Vol 135 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hamed Ghaednia ◽  
Robert L. Jackson

Although nanoparticle additives have been the topic of multiple studies recently, very little work has attempted to explicitly model the third body contact of nanoparticles. This work presents and uses a novel methodology to model nanoparticles in contact between rough surfaces. The model uses two submodels to handle different scales of contact, namely the nano-sized particles and micrometer-sized roughness features. Silicon nanoparticles suspended in conventional lubricant are modeled in contact between steel rough surfaces. The effect of the particles on contact force and real area of contact has been modeled. The model makes predictions of the coefficient of friction and wear using fundamental models. The results suggest that particles would reduce the real area of contact and, therefore, decrease the friction force. Also, particles could induce abrasive wear by scratching the surfaces. The implications of the model are also discussed, and the arguments and results have been linked to available experimental data. This work finds that particle size and distribution are playing a key role in tribology characteristics of the nanolubricants.


1984 ◽  
Vol 106 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bharat Bhushan

The statistical analysis of the real area of contact proposed by Greenwood and Williamson is revisited. General and simplified equations for the mean asperity real area of contact, number of contacts, total real area of contact, and mean real pressure as a function of apparent pressure for the case of elastic junctions are presented. The critical value of the mean asperity pressure at which plastic flow starts when a polymer contacts a hard material is derived. Based on this, conditions of elastic and plastic junctions for polymers are defined by a “polymer” plasticity index, Ψp which depends on the complex modulus, Poisson’s ratio, yield strength, and surface topography. Calculations show that most dynamic contacts that occur in a computer-magnetic tape are elastic, and the predictions are supported by experimental evidence. Tape wear in computer applications is small and decreases Ψp by less than 10 percent. The theory presented here can also be applied to rigid and floppy disks.


1996 ◽  
Vol 49 (5) ◽  
pp. 275-298 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bharat Bhushan

Contact modeling of two rough surfaces under normal approach and with relative motion is carried out to predict the real area of contact which affects friction and wear of an interface. The contact of two macroscopically flat bodies with microroughness is reduced to the contact at multiple asperities of arbitrary shapes. Most of deformation at the asperity contact can be either elastic or elastic-plastic. In this paper, a comprehensive review of modeling of a single asperity contact or an indentation problem is presented. Contact analyses for a spherical asperity/indenter on homogeneous and layered, elastic and elastic-plastic solids with and without tangential loading are presented. The analyses reviewed in this paper fall into two groups: (a) analytical solutions, primarily for elastic solids and (b) finite element solutions, primarily for elastic-plastic problems and layered solids. Implications of these analyses in friction and wear are discussed.


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