A strategy for numerical testing of frictional laws with application to contact between soil and concrete Original Research Article

In typical geotechnical applications dealing with structure/soil interaction, Coulombʹs frictional law is usually used. However, in many cases such a simple model may be inadequate. In this paper friction laws are developed which allow for `hardeningʹ of the slip surface. The models are developed by simulating plastic deformations of the microstructure in the contact zone between two sliding rough surfaces with asperities. On the basis of the computed responses frictional laws are developed, which show physically relevant deviations from the Coulomb model.