Contact mechanics with adhesion: Interfacial separation and contact area
Abstract
We study the adhesive contact between elastic solids with randomly rough, self-affine fractal surfaces. We present molecular-dynamics (MD) simulation results for the interfacial stress distribution and the wall-wall separation. We compare the MD results for the relative contact area and the average interfacial separation, with the prediction of the contact mechanics theory of Persson. We find good agreement between theory and the simulation results. We apply the theory to the system studied by Benz et al. (J. Phys. Chem. B, 2006, 110 11884) involving polymer in contact with polymer, but in this case the adhesion gives only a small modification of the interfacial separation as a function of the squeezing pressure.
- Publication:
-
EPL (Europhysics Letters)
- Pub Date:
- November 2008
- DOI:
- 10.1209/0295-5075/84/46004
- arXiv:
- arXiv:0808.3463
- Bibcode:
- 2008EL.....8446004Y
- Keywords:
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- Condensed Matter - Soft Condensed Matter
- E-Print:
- 5 pages, 4 figures