Maximum force of friction in rubber-metal friction pairs under conditions of constant compressive deformation of the rubber

The maximum force of friction at the initial moment of slip has been investigated on rubber-metal friction pairs under conditions of constant compressive deformation of the rubber during transition from the high-elastic to the glassy state. Filled butadiene-nitrile rubber compounds were studied in the temperature range from +20 to –50°C. The temperature dependence of the maximum force of friction has a sharply expressed maximum near the glass transition temperature. As the temperature falls, the force of friction at first increases, in accordance with the molecular-kinetic theory. As the temperature continues to fall, in the transition region the maximum force of friction begins to rise more sharply owing to a sharp increase in the volume-mechanical friction component. The fall in the maximum force of friction below the glass transition point associated with a decrease in the deformed volume of rubber due to shrinkage and with the reduced mechanical loss factor.Mekhanika Polimerov, Vol. 3, No. 3, pp. 533–538, 1967