Friction

Laws of friction
x

W F

Friction force is proportional to the applied load F=W

is coefficient of friction

W F

Friction force is independent of apparent area of contact Frictional force does not depend on velocity
(not always so: static usually greater than sliding )

W F

[Friction is well characterized enough to make a reasonably stable parameter to measure for given materials under given conditions]

Steve Roberts - Surface Engineering - Friction

Friction Testing
Standard methods (also used for wear testing) Pin-on-disc: W
Lubricant ? Abrasive ? Shielding Fluid ?

Pin-on-flat: F etc....
proof ring

Pins: Flat Round

(conforming)

Point
(abrasive)

Steve Roberts - Surface Engineering - Friction

Why is there friction?

x

Surfaces are rough.

Early explanation: Asperities slide over one another:

W F

W F

W F

W F

a)

b)

c)

d)

Problem is that though work is done in stages (a) and (b), it is all regained in stages (c) and (d). For friction, which is a dissipative process, we need a route by which sliding converts energy to heat. Plastic work must be done.

Steve Roberts - Surface Engineering - Friction

Friction mechanisms (1)

x

Basic concept: adhesion.

Two surfaces are pressed together with load W. They deform until the area of contact (A) is enough to support the load: A=W/H where H is hardness of material. To move the surfaces sideways, must overcome the shear strength s of the junctions, with force F. F=sA Hence: F=sW/H =s/H For most materials: So we expect H = 3 y: s = y = y /3 = s / H = 1 / 27 0.2

W F

This should be applicable to: same metal contacts dissimilar metal contacts (H and s apply to the weaker metal) Steve Roberts - Surface Engineering - Friction 4

Friction mechanisms (2)

x

Basic concept: ploughing. Applies to hard on soft metal surfaces. Model a single event as a hard cone of semi-angle ploughing through the softer surface.

Area of groove, A = a x F = H a x F = H x2 tan and W = H a2 / 2 ( divide by 2 as only half cone is supported) W = H (x tan a)2 / 2 So:
W F

2a x

= F

=2

tan

Since surface slopes are usually small - less than 10 > 80, and hence predicted < 0.1. For rough ceramics sliding on metals, though, this mechanism may give much higher values of .

Steve Roberts - Surface Engineering - Friction

Friction Coefficients
All these friction coefficients are in air. In vacuum they are much higher still. Gold Copper Chromium Work hardening: at the asperity contacts, the material may have gone a long way up the stress- strain curve: s will be >> than y /3. Junction growth: the shear stress as dF is applied to each asperity contact increases the contact area. Silver / brass Cast Iron Indium Metal on Itself 2 0.7-1.4 0.4 Silver Magnesium Lead 1 0.5 1.5

Why these high values?

On steel (0.13%C) 0.5 0.2 0.4 2 Copper brass Steel Lead 0.8 0.5 0.8 1.2

We expected ~0.2 !

Steve Roberts - Surface Engineering - Friction

Junction Growth
Principal stresses (from Mohrs circle)

W W 2 A.1 = + + F 2 2 W W 2 A. 2 = + F 2 2 W 2 A.(1 2 ) = 2 + F 2
At yield, 1 - 2 = uniaxial yield stress, y:
2 2

A F W

W 2 2 2 2 A . y = 4 + F 2 = W 2 + 4F2
Steve Roberts - Surface Engineering - Friction 7

Junction growth (2)

W: constant for constant W if number of contacts stays the same y: constant for given material. So: as F increases, A increases. As A increases, s, the shear stress in the contact increases :

A 2 . 2 = W 2 + 4F2 y

F 1 W 2 s= = y A 2 A
BUT, since the shear stress in the junction, s, is always less than y, in principle failure will never occur...

(at least for metals, where we always have yield before fracture) The junctions will get bigger and bigger until seizure; the two metals have effectively welded together. (N.B. in real systems, junction growth through thermal effects may be important.) The question is now: Why arent friction coefficients always very large ? Steve Roberts - Surface Engineering - Friction 8

(Limits to...) Junction growth (3)

Friction coefficient, seized at high vacuum 3 2 1 0 10-4 mm Hg 10-3 mm Hg ~ mm Hg after 15 hrs Friction of iron on iron as function of atmosphere and time. Oxide films - a few nm thick have big effect on friction. Junctions of oxide films are relatively weak in shear. (see friction of ceramics - later)

Suppose interfacial film has shear strength i: and the bulk material has yield strength y: If no junction growth (film may inhibit it), then a lower limit of friction is:

F = Ai W = A y = F W = i y = i 2 y

(Hence use of lubricants: more later) Steve Roberts - Surface Engineering - Friction 9

(Limits to...) Junction growth (4)

Suppose the film is thin enough or stiff enough (e.g. native metal oxide) to transmit shear across the interface. Then some junction growth may occur, up to the limiting shear stress i being reached in the film at the junction.

W = 2A max 2 i2 y F = W max A = i max W iA max = 2A max 2 i2 y = 1 2 y 1 i

10
2

Fmax = i Amax
In the metal, as before:

A 2 . 2 = W 2 + 4F2 y
In the limit, as the film shears:
2 2 A max . 2 = W 2 + 4i2 A max y

In the metal, y = 2 y
2 2 4.A max .2 = W 2 + 4i2 A max y

Steve Roberts - Surface Engineering - Friction

Effect of weak films

So a film even very slightly weaker in shear than the asperities very significantly reduces friction. (substrate deformation) In most metals this will be a junction between oxide films. Possible situations: Weak metal, weak oxide: film easily broken, rapid junction growth and high . e.g. In, (Au) Weak metal, strong(ish) oxide: transition from low to high as load increases. e.g. Cu, Fe Strong metal, strong oxide: low . at all loads. e.g. strong steels, Cr Metal with weak inclusions: low i film forms on surface, low ; e.g. leaded / brass, grey cast iron.
2.0

1 2 y 1 i
2

1.5

1.0

(substrate rigid)

0.5

i 2 y

0.0 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1

i / y

Steve Roberts - Surface Engineering - Friction

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Friction of Metals
Oxide films prevent junction growth have low shear strength, i
2

Surfaces Polished Mild Wear

Surfaces Roughened (transfer) Severe Wear Co-eff. Friction

Co-eff. Friction

1.5

Copper sliding on Copper

0.5

Resistivity
10-2 1 100

This is typical of a soft metal 10-4 with a moderately hard but brittle oxide. Extremes of behaviour:

Load (N)

Chromium: hard metal with hard and tough oxide: no transition to high as load increases Tin: very soft metal: offers little support to (soft) oxide film: high at all loads Steve Roberts - Surface Engineering - Friction 12

Friction of Metals - Temperature effects

Numerous possible effects as Temperature increases (or sliding speed increases): Enhanced oxide film formation:
2

Increased plasticity:

Co-eff. Friction

1.5

Co-eff. Friction

Oxide film thickens

F.C.C. (high T) 1.5 (Ti) 1 H.C.P. 0.5 0 B.C.C. (< BDT) B.C.C. (> BDT) F.C.C. (low T)

0.5 0 0 200 400 600 800 1000

T (C) Stainless steel sliding on nickel in air. (heating and cooling) Possible phase changes in metal or oxide. (effects related to above diagram)

Steve Roberts - Surface Engineering - Friction

13

Friction of ceramics
From our analysis of friction, we expect low friction if: Hardness of material, y,, is high; Environmental effects: Atmospheric water or oxygen may react with the surface of a non-oxide ceramic to give a weak surface film, further lowering friction. e.g Si3N4: (pin-on-disc test)

Failure shear strength, i, of junctions formed is low.

Engineering ceramics increasingly used for low smooth contact friction parts as: Very high hardness (e.g. Al2O3 - 2000 kg mm-2 = 20GPa) - Asperity contacts are likely to be purely elastic (Hertzian) - No junction growth even at high pressures Low adhesion between surfaces - So even if there is some plasticity, junction growth will be very limited.
0.7 0.6 0.5

Co-eff. Friction

0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0 Nitrogen 50% RH 90% RH H2O

Steve Roberts - Surface Engineering - Friction

14

Friction of ceramics (2)

Temperature
Increase in temperature can have two effects: Desorption of water Increased plasticity in surface layer

Brittleness
Friction is often measured for these materials by using a sharp point (often diamond). Fracture around the contact track may add an extra energy loss mechanism
0.8

Co-eff. Friction

0.6 0.4 0.2 0 0 2 4 6 8 10

Co-eff. Friction

0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2 0 0 200 400 600 800 1000

Alumina Partially-Stabilised Zirconia

Load (N) Friction of 90 diamond cone on SiC substrate. Fracture is observed above ~4N load.

Temperature (C)

Steve Roberts - Surface Engineering - Friction

15

Hertzian Contact
x

Especially important in Ceramics and Polymers (Hard relative to Modulus)

P
2a

Simplest case is sphere, radius R, pressed against flat surface. Contact is purely elastic. In ceramics, r can propagate surface cracks to form ring and then cone cracks.

r
r = 1 2 P 2 r 2
1 3

Tensile Compressive

3PR a= E` 1 = E` 1 i2 Ei

1 2 s Es

Cone crack in glass block

BR Lawn, Fracture of Brittle Solids., 1993, Ch. 8

Steve Roberts - Surface Engineering - Friction

16

Friction of Polymers
Different from metals (and ceramics) since:
x

E / H is very low (~10: its ~100+ for metals):

Contacts are almost entirely elastic. Amontons laws not obeyed since real contact area depends on load.

Viscoelastic losses: Test by lubricated rolling contact to minimise adhesion term:

Most polymers are viscoelastic:

Energy loss through elastic hysteresis is significant part of friction.

Adhesion is also significant part of friction.

Steve Roberts - Surface Engineering - Friction

17

Friction of Polymers viscoelasticity

If a fraction of the input energy is lost to viscoelastic hysteresis:

Fdefm. = AW

3E

1 3

(Note dependence on W and on E - unlike metals) is directly related to , the loss tangent. In polymers, both real E and imaginary E (loss tangent, ) vary with temperature.

E1/3
Fdefm

2 1

Fdefm.

Steel sphere rolling on PTFE

(arb units)

E1/3

0 -200

-100

100

200

Temperature (C) Steve Roberts - Surface Engineering - Friction 18

Friction of Polymers - adhesion

Adhesion:
Test by sliding smooth polymer surfaces together (to minimise deformation effects. Co-eff. Friction Low Loads: Asperity contact: area of contact proportional to load, W. independent of load High Loads: Hertzian contact: area of contact W2/3

1
Rough PMMA Surfaces

Smooth PMMA Surfaces

0.1 1 10 100
Load (N)

A / W W2/3 / W W-1/3
Adhesion is due to Van der Waals type forces: Junction growth is limited -

1000

is never very high.

19

Steve Roberts - Surface Engineering - Friction

Friction of Polymers transfer films

Polymers sliding on Metals
Generally a transfer film of polymer forms on the metal surface: so the friction is similar to that for self - sliding

PTFE and HDPE

PTFE - Poly Tetra Fluoro Ethylene (Teflon) HDPE - High Density Poly Ethylene Both have long - chain unbranched structures, with smooth non-polar surfaces. Adhesion forces are very low. Once a (thick) transfer film forms, is ~0.2 - 0.3; With increased sliding, the films (or surfaces) become thinner and aligned with each other and the sliding direction: is ~0.05. If the mating surfaces are twisted to mis-align the polymer chains, rises again to ~0.2 - 0.3 Steve Roberts - Surface Engineering - Friction 20