Taking a mechanistic approach that emphasizes the physical behavior of rubber as it slides, this book integrates the engineering and scientific evidence demonstrating that the laws of metallic friction do not apply to rubber. It presents a newly developed unified theory of rubber friction that incorporates a fourth basic rubber friction force: surface deformation hysteresis. With applications that phenomenologically treat both static and dynamic rubber friction, the book offers practical guidance for implementing this unified theory in the analysis and design process. Each chapter closes with a review for nontechnical professional readers.

From the Preface: “...This book is intended to be an applied engineering handbook in which the presented concepts are illustrated in graphical form. The associated quantifying equations have been kept as simple as possible, restricted to those encountered in laboratory courses taken in the first two years of an undergraduate engineering education. Because most of the applicable product-related rubber-friction-test results reported in the literature were obtained from tires and footwear outsoles, the book emphasizes these uses of rubber; nevertheless, the mechanistic, intuitively consistent theory of rubber friction discussed in this work applies to all elastomeric products where friction is an issue...”

Target Audience: Engineers, designers, specifiers and product managers involved with rubber products and their end-use applications.

Table of Contents:

Introduction

Metallic Coefficient of Friction

Rubber Friction Mechanisms

Metallic Coefficient-of-Friction Equation Does Not Apply to Rubber

A Unified Theory of Rubber Friction

The Rubber Adhesion Transition Phenomenon

Microhysteretic Friction in Dry Rubber Products

Microhysteresis in Wet Rubber Products

Rubber Microhysteresis in Static-Friction Testing

Inertial, Residence-Time, Adhesion-Transition, and Contact-Time Bias in Portable Walking-Surface Slip-Resistance Testers

Nonscientific Application of the Laws of Metallic Friction to Rubber Tires Operated on Pavements

Friction Analysis in the Design of Rubber Tires and Their Contacted Pavements

Nonscientific Application of the Laws of Metallic Friction to Footwear Outsole-Walking Surface Pairings

Slip-Resistance Analysis in the Design of Footwear Outsoles and Their Paired Walking Surfaces

Index