About Friction Friction is the force resisting the relative motion of solid surfaces, fluid layers, and material

elements sliding against each other. There are several types of friction: Dry friction resists relative lateral motion of two solid surfaces in contact. Dry friction is subdivided into: o Static friction between non-moving surfaces, and o Kinetic friction between moving surfaces. Fluid friction describes the friction between layers within a viscous fluid that are moving relative to each other. Lubricated friction is a case of fluid friction where a fluid separates two solid surfaces. Skin friction is a component of drag, the force resisting the motion of a solid body through a fluid. Internal friction is the force resisting motion between the elements making up a solid material while it undergoes deformation. When surfaces in contact move relative to each other, the friction between the two surfaces converts kinetic energy into heat. This property can have dramatic consequences, as illustrated by the use of friction created by rubbing pieces of wood together to start a fire. Kinetic energy is converted to heat whenever motion with friction occurs, for example when a viscous fluid is stirred. Another important consequence of many types of friction can be wear, which may lead to performance degradation and/or damage to components.

Friction regimes: Friction regimes for sliding lubricated surfaces have been broadly categorized into on the basis of the Stribeck curve: Solid / boundary friction Fluid friction Mixed friction These curves clearly show the minimum value of friction as the demarcation between full fluid-film lubrication and some solid asperity interactions. Stribeck and others systematically studied the variation of friction between two liquid lubricated surfaces as a function of a dimensionless lubrication parameter N/P, where is the dynamic viscosity, N the speed of the bearing and P the load projected on to the geometrical surface.

Dry friction
Dry friction resists relative lateral motion of two solid surfaces in contact. The two regimes of dry friction are: 1. Static friction between non-moving surfaces, and 2. Kinetic friction (sometimes called sliding friction or dynamic friction) between moving surfaces. In general dry friction describes the reaction between two solid bodies in contact with each other when they are in motion (kinetic friction) and when they are not (static friction). Both static and kinetic friction are proportional to the normal force exerted between the two solid bodies. In all cases friction works against the motion or inclination towards motion. The interaction of different substances is modeled with different coefficients of friction. This means that certain substances have higher resistance to movement than other for the same normal force between them. These coefficients are listed in many places and are very dependent on the state of the material like how smooth it is. Each value is experimentally determined. Coulomb friction, named after Charles-Augustin de Coulomb, is an approximate model used to calculate the force of dry friction. It is governed by the equation:

where:

is the force of friction exerted by each surface on the other. It is parallel to the surface, in a direction opposite to the net applied force. is the coefficient of friction, which is an empirical property of the contacting materials, is the normal force exerted by each surface on the other, directed perpendicular (normal) to the surface.

The Coulomb friction may take any value from zero up to , and the direction of the frictional force against a surface is opposite to the motion that surface would experience in the absence of friction. Thus, in the static case, the frictional force is exactly what it must be in order to prevent motion between the surfaces; it balances the net force tending to cause such motion. In this case, rather than providing an estimate of the actual frictional force, the Coulomb approximation provides a threshold value for this force, above which motion would commence. This maximum force is known as traction. The force of friction is always exerted in a direction that opposes movement (for kinetic friction) or potential movement (for static friction) between the two surfaces.

Boundary Friction: Boundary friction is the friction between surfaces that are neither completely dry nor completely separated by a lubricant.

The Effect: When two consistent, un-lubricated surfaces slide against each other, there is a specific, predictable amount of friction that occurs. This amount increases as velocity does, but only up to a certain point. That increase follows the Stribeck curve. On the other hand, if the two surfaces are completely lubricated, there is no direct friction or rubbing at all. In real life, though, there is often a situation where the surfaces are not completely dry, but also not so lubricated that they don't touch. This "boundary friction" produces effects, such as, an increase in lubrication through the generation of shearing forces, and an oscillation effect during motion as the friction increases and decreases.