Surface roughness effect on friction behaviour of elastomeric material

This paper presents an experimental study of tribological behaviour of elastomer/steel contact with special focus on the impact of surface roughness. Two tribological tests were used: indentation tests with spherical steel indenter for the purpose of determining the material properties such as the elastic modulus and adhesion force (E, Fad); and friction tests conducted on elastomer surfaces with different roughness. In order to quantify the friction coefficient, both normal and frictional forces are measured during the experiments. Combining indentation and friction results, it could be confirmed that adhesion between contact surfaces increases as the contact area increases. Other ways, friction coefficient variation is linked to the resulting contact area. Hence, this point of view can explain roughness effect on friction coefficient. To confirm this suggestion complementary experimental tests are proposed.