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Role of capillary adhesion in the friction peak during the tacky transition

Friction volume 10, pages 1208–1216 (2022)Cite this article

Abstract

The friction peak that occurs in tire-road sliding when the contact changes from wet to dry was previously attributed to capillary cohesion, van der Waals attraction, and surface roughness, but the detailed mechanisms have yet to be revealed. In this study, friction and static contact experiments were conducted using a custom-built in situ optical microtribometer, which allowed us to investigate the evolution of the friction, normal load, and contact area between a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) film and a silicon nitride ball during water volatilization. The friction coefficient increased by 100%, and the normal force dropped by 30% relative to those in the dry condition during the wet-to-dry transition. In static contact experiments, the probe indentation depth increased, and the normal load decreased by ∼60% as the water evaporated. Combining the friction and static contact results, we propose that the large friction peak that appeared in this study can be attributed to the combined effects of increased adhesive capillary force and increased plowing during the wet-to-dry transition.

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 51875152, 51875153, and 51975174).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Tribology, School of Mechanical Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei, 230009, China

    Tianyan Gao, Jiaxin Ye, Kaisen Zhang, Xiaojun Liu, Yan Zhang & Kun Liu

Authors
  1. Tianyan Gao
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  2. Jiaxin Ye
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  3. Kaisen Zhang
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  4. Xiaojun Liu
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  5. Yan Zhang
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  6. Kun Liu
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kun Liu.

Additional information

Tianyan GAO. She received her bachelor degree in aerocraft manufacture engineering in 2017 from Hefei University of Technology, Hefei, China. Now, she is a Ph.D. student in the Institute of Tribology at the same university. Her research interests include rubber friction and interfacial wetting.

Kun LIU. He received his M.S. degree in 1988 from Hefei University of Technology, Hefei, China, and received his Ph.D. degree in the Institute of Lubrication Theory and Bearings in 1995 from Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, China. His current position is a professor and the director of the Institute of Tribology. His research area mainly focuses on the tribology design.

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Gao, T., Ye, J., Zhang, K. et al. Role of capillary adhesion in the friction peak during the tacky transition. Friction 10, 1208–1216 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40544-021-0524-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40544-021-0524-2

Keywords

  • friction peak
  • capillary adhesion
  • tacky condition
  • polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) film
  • silicon nitride