Synonyms
Definition
In tribology, asperities are high spots on surfaces that come into contact during wear or friction. The forms, shapes, and deformational characteristics of asperities play a role in modeling tribo-contacts, especially in cases where liquid-lubricating films are either absent or so thin that solid-to-solid interactions occur. Asperities that reside on contact surfaces can be visualized at a variety of size scales, depending upon the phenomena being considered. The fracture, deformation, and/or loss of asperities is associated with wear, polishing, and either the roughening or smoothing of surfaces.
Scientific Applications
The concept of an asperity is fundamental to the visualization and modeling of friction and wear-related phenomena; especially in situations where solid-to-solid interactions occur. Simply stated, an asperity is a high spot (bump) on a surface that either makes contact with an opposing surface or affects the...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsReferences
J.F. Archard, Contact and rubbing of flat surfaces. J. Appl. Phys. 24(8), 981–988 (1953)
F.P. Bowden, D. Tabor, Friction and Lubrication of Solids (Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1996), 337 pp. Oxford Press, originally published 1950 this was republished in 1996 Oxford University Classic Texts in the Physical Sciences series
D. Dowson, History of Tribology, 2nd edn. (Wiley, New York, 1998), 768 pp
J.A. Greenwood, J.B.P. Williamson, Contact of nominally flat surfaces. Proc. R. Soc. Lond. A295, 300–319 (1966)
H. Hokkirigawa, K. Kato, An experimental and theoretical investigation of ploughing, cutting, and wedge formation during abrasive wear. Tribol. Int. 21(1), 51–57 (1988)
R. Holm, Electric Contacts – Theory and Applications, 4th edn. (Springer, New York, 1999), 516 pp. (First published by Springer, Berlin, 1967)
H.J. Kim, W.K. Kim, M.L. Falk, D.A. Rigney, MD simulations of microstructure evolution during high-velocity sliding between crystalline materials. Tribol. Lett. 28, 299–306 (2007)
G. Liu, Q. Wang, S. Liu, A three-dimensional thermal-mechanical asperity contact model for two nominally flat surfaces in contact. J. Tribol. 123(3), 595–563 (2003)
E. Rabinowicz, Friction and Wear of Materials, 2nd edn. (Wiley, New York, 1995), 336 pp
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2013 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this entry
Cite this entry
Blau, P.J. (2013). Asperities. In: Wang, Q.J., Chung, YW. (eds) Encyclopedia of Tribology. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-92897-5_167
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-92897-5_167
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-0-387-92896-8
Online ISBN: 978-0-387-92897-5
eBook Packages: EngineeringReference Module Computer Science and Engineering