Active control of boundary lubrication of ceramic tribo-pairs in sodium dodecyl sulfate aqueous solutions

The objective of the study is to actively control friction between engineering ceramics in underwater applications. By designing a proper electrode system and applying an external electric field, the active control of friction between Al2O3 plate and ZrO2 ball in sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) aqueous solutions has been realized, which is different from the previous studies of potential controlled boundary lubrication where at least one part of tribo-pairs is a conductor. Reversible change of friction coefficient has been observed in the range from 0.12 to 0.35. An indirect electric field-assisted adsorption model has been proposed to explain the observed phenomena. The addition of inorganic salts containing counterions to the SDS solution or increasing the concentration of SDS can shorten the response time of friction to the variation of the applied electric field by facilitating the formation of SDS micelles. This opens a new way to realize the active control of friction for insulative tribo-pairs without corrosion.

The Phonon Dissipation Mode in Nanofriction

The phonon dissipation is investigated through molecular dynamics (MD) simulation modeling graphene flake sliding on supported graphene in this paper. With the help of the advantage of MD, we explore the phonon mode variation of the substrate induced by the behavior of friction in terms of phonon densities of states. Moreover, phonon dissipation modes connected with the relative sliding velocity and the temperature of system are established respectively. The simulation results demonstrate phonon dissipation is represented as special phonon frequencies while those are closely related to the sliding velocities but would not shift as the change of temperatures. For an explanation of the special frequencies, we further simplify the model by directly adding the velocity to the atoms of the flake in the MD model, although it is impractical. It is found that a special frequency of phonon dissipation is generally in agreement with the sliding frequency at low temperature eliminating the interference of temperature in a range of velocities from 50m/s to 250m/s, namely, the velocity is directly related to the modes of phonon dissipation and friction, which is consistent with the previously reported result[1] that the velocity is an influence factor for friction both in experimental and theoretical researches. Therefore, the relationship makes possible the active control of friction. It is the first step toward using this method to reveal the fundamental questions in the study of atomic-scale friction.

Scalybot: A Snake-Inspired Robot With Active Control of Friction

Snakes are one of the world’s most versatile locomotors, at ease slithering through rubble or ratcheting up vertical tree trunks. Their adaptations for movement across complex dry terrain thus serve naturally as inspirations for search-and-rescue robotics. In this combined experimental and theoretical study, we perform experiments on inclined surfaces to show a snake’s scales are critical anatomical features that enable climbing. We find corn snakes actively change their scale angle of attack by contracting their ventral muscles and lifting their bodies. We use this novel paradigm to design Scalybot, a two-link limbless robot with individually controlled sets of belly scales. The robot ascends styrofoam plates inclined up to 45°, demonstrating a climbing ability comparable to that of a corn snake in the same conditions. The robot uses individual servos to provide a spatial and temporal dependence of its belly friction, effectively anchoring the stationary part of its body while reducing frictional drag of its sliding section. The ability to actively modulate friction increases both the robot’s efficiency over horizontal surfaces and the limiting angles of inclination it can ascend.