Abstract
Friction is an essential part of human experience. We need traction to walk, stand, work, and drive. At the same time, we need energy to overcome the resistance to motion, hence, too much friction costs excess energy to perform work, introducing inefficiencies. In the 21st century, we are facing the dual challenges of energy shortage and global warming from burning fossil fuels. Therefore, the ability to control friction has become a top priority in our world today. Yet our understanding of the fundamental nature of friction is still lacking.
Friction has always been a subject of curiosity. Intensive study of the origin of friction began in the 16th century, after the pioneering work by Leonardo da Vinci. Yet progress in understanding the nature of friction has been slow, hampered by the lack of instrument to measure friction precisely. Ingenious experiments performed by Amontons, Coulomb, and others have yielded important insights to build the foundation of our understanding. Beginning in the late 1800s and early 1900s, the advent of steam engines, locomotives, followed by the automobiles airplanes, and space exploration demands a clear understanding of friction and the ability to control it for the machinery to last. Significant progress on how to apply and control friction in engineering friction was made through trial and error. At the beginning of the 21st century, a new dimension of nanoscale friction came into the picture in conjunction with the arrival of nanotechnology. Our understanding of atomic and molecular friction has been expanding rapidly. However, integration of the new found knowledge of nanofriction into engineering practices has been elusive. Why? What is the scaling relationship between atomic friction and macro-friction? Is it possible to predict friction at the macro-level from nanoscale results? Why nanofriction values often do not agree with the macrofriction values given the same materials pair? Could it be there is a length scale dependent characteristic friction value?
In engineering practice, progress since the 1980s has been slow. Most of the effort has been focused on lubrication research such as elastohydrodynamic theories and solid lubricants. Friction mechanisms and failures have received relative little attention while nanofriction received much of the attention.
Today, energy efficiency and renewable energy generation demand our immediate attention while we seek reduction in carbon emission. The ability to control friction becomes an essential step in seeking sustainable technologies. Friction, after all, is an indicator of energy efficiency. If we can reduce the unnecessary parasitic energy losses and increase our current energy efficiency, it will give us time to develop alternative energy sources. This paper examines our current understanding of friction, filling some voids with experimental data, and attempts to integrate the various pieces to identify the gaps of our knowledge, hopefully to spark new avenues of investigations into this important area.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Greenwood J A, Williamson J B P. Contact of nominally flat surfaces. Proc Roy Soc Series A295: 300–319 (1966)
Whitehouse D J, Archard J F. The properties of random surfaces of significance in their contact. Proc Roy Soc Series316: 97–121 (1970)
Bowden F P. Friction. Nature166: 330–334 (1950)
Wang F X, Lacey P, Gates R S, Hsu S M. A study of the relative surface conformity between two surfaces in sliding contact. J Tribol113: 755–761 (1991)
Hsu S M. Fundamental mechanisms of friction and lubrication of materials. Langmuir12(19): 4482–4485 (1996)
Urbakh M, Klafter J, Gourdon D, Israelachivili J. The nonlinear nature of friction. Nature430: 525–528 (2004)
Luengo G, Israelachvili J, Granick S. Generalized effects in confined fluids: New friction map for boundary lubrication. Wear200: 328–335 (1996)
Gao J, Luedtke W D, Gourdon D, Ruths M, Israelachvili J, Landman U. Friction forces and Amontons’ law: From molecular to the macroscopic scale. J Phys Chem B108: 3410–3425 (2004)
Cieplak M, Smith E D, Robbins M. Molecular origin of friction: The force on adsorbed layers. Science265: 1209–1212 (1994)
Carpick R, Ogletree D, Salmeron M. A general equation for fitting contact area and friction vs load measurements. J Colloid Interf Sci211: 395–400 (1999)
Carpick R. Contolling friction. Science313: 184–185 (2006)
Persson B N J. Sliding friction. Surf Sci Rep33: 83–119 (1999)
Tabor D. Friction-the present state of our understanding. J Lubr Technol103: 169–179 (1981)
Tabor D. Future directions of research in adhesion and friction-status of understanding. In Proceedings of NASA Lewis Research Center Tribology in the 80’s, 1984: 119–139.
Bowden F P, Tabor D. The Friction and Lubrication of Solids. Gloucestershire (UK): Clarendon Press, 1986.
Buckley D H. Surface Effects in Adhesion, Friction, Wear, and Lubrication, Vol. 5. Elsevier, 1981.
Briscoe B J, Tabor D. Shear properties of thin polymeric films. J Adhesion9: 145–155 (1978)
Wang LY, Ying F Z, Zhang J, Chen C, Hsu S M. Strength measurement of thin lubricating films. Wear237: 155–162 (2000)
Ying T. Wear mechanism for ductile and brittle materials in micro-contacts. PhD thesis. Maryland (USA): University of Maryland, College Park, 1993.
Drexler K E. In Nanosystems: Molecular Machinery, Manufacturing, and Computation. John Wiley & Sons, 1992: 23.
Mate C M, McClelland G M, Erlandsson R, Chiang S. Atomic-scale friction of a tungsten tip on a graphite surface. Phys Rev Lett59: 1942–1945 (1987)
Gnecco E, Bennewitz R, Gyalog T, Loppacher Ch, Bammerlin M, Meyer E, Güntherodt H J. Velocity dependence of atomic friction. Phys Rev Lett84: 1172–1175 (2000)
Yoshizawa J, Chen Y-L, Israelachvili J. Fundamental mechanisms of interfacial friction. 1. Relation between adhesion and friction. J Phys Chem97: 4128–4140 (1993)
Yoshizawa J, Israelachvili J. Fundamental mechanisms of interfacial friction. 2. Stick-slip friction of Spherical and Chain molecules. J Phys Chem97: 11300–11313 (1993)
Liu H, Bhushan B. Adhesion and friction studies of microelectromechanical systems/nanoelectromechanical systems materials using a novel microtriboapparatus. J Vac Sci Technol A21: 1528–1538 (2003)
Dienwiebel M, Verhoeven G S, Pradeep N, Frenken J W M, Heimberg J A, Zandbergen H W. Superlubricity of graphite. Phys Rev Lett92: 126101 (2004)
Enachescu M, van den Oetelaar R J A, Carpick R W, Ogletree D F, Flipse C F J, Salmeron M. Observation of proportionality between friction and contact area at the nanometer scale. Trib Lett7: 73–78 (1999)
Richetti P, Drummond C, Israelachvili J, In M, Zana R. Inverted stick-slip friction. Europhys Lett55: 653–659 (2001)
Overney R M, Takano H, Fujihira M, Paulus W, Ringsdorf H. Anisotropy in friction and molecular stick-slip motion. Phys Rev Lett72: 3546–3549 (1994)
Socoliuc A, Bennewitz R, Gnecco E, Mayer E. Transition from stick-slip to continuous sliding in atomic friction: Entering a new regime of ultralow friction. Phys Rev Lett92: 134301 (2004)
Niederberger S, Gracias D G, Komvopoulos K, Somorjai G A. Transition from nanoscale to microscale dynamic friction mechanisms on polystyrene and silicon surfaces. J Appl Phys87: 3143–3150 (2000)
Liu E, Blanpain B, Celis J P, Roos J R. Comparative study between macro-tribology and nanotribology. J Appl Phys84: 4859–4865 (1998)
Aoike T, Uehara H, Yamanobe T, Komoto T. Comparison of macro- and nano-tribological behavior with surface plastic deformation of polystyrene. Langmuir17: 2153–2159 (2001)
Bhushan B, Li X. Atomic-scale and microscale friction studies of graphite and diamond using friction force microscopy. J Mater Res12: 54–63 (1997)
Bhushan B. Adhesion and stiction: Mechanisms, measurement techniques, and methods for reduction. J Vac Sci Technol B21: 2262–2296 (2003)
McGuiggan P, Zhang J, Hsu S M. Comparison of friction measurement using the atomic force microscope and the surface forces apparatus: The issue of scale. Tribol Lett10: 217–223 (2001)
Pethica J B, Hutchings R, Oliver W C. Hardness measurement at penetration depths as small as 20 nm. Philos Mag A48: 593–606 (1983)
Bennewitz R, Gnecco E, Gyalog T, Meyer E. Atomic friction studies on well-defined surfaces. Tribol Lett10: 51–56 (2001)
Fang H W. Ultra-High molecular weight polyethylene wear particle effects on bioactivity. PhD thesis. Maryland (USA): University of Maryland, College Park, 2004.
Mate C M. On the road to an atomic- and molecular-level understanding of friction. MRS Bull27: 967–971 (2002)
Gyalog T, Bammerlin M, Luthi R, Meyer E, Thomas H. Mechanism of atomic friction. Europhys Lett31: 269 (1995)
Sang Y, Dube M, Grant M. Thermal effects on atomic friction. Phys Rev Lett87: 174301 (2001)
Evstigneev M, Schirmeisen A, Jansen L, Fuchs H, Reimann P. Force dependence of transition rates in atomic friction. Phys Rev Lett97: 240601 (2006)
Price W, Leigh S, Hsu S, Patten T, Liu G. Measuring the size dependence of Young’s modulus using force modulation atomic force microscopy. J Phys Chem A110: 1382–1388 (2006)
Chen C Q, Shi Y, Zhang Y S, Zhu J, Yan Y J. Size dependence of Young’s modulus in ZnO nanowires. Phys Rev Lett96: 075505 (2006)
Kim J, Greer J. Size-dependent mechanical properties of molybdenum nanopillars. Appl Phys Lett93: 101916 (2008)
Greer J, Oliver W C, Nix W D. Size dependence of mechanical properties of gold at the micron scale in the absence of strain gradients. Acta Materialia53: 1821–1830 (2005)
Johnson K L. The contribution of micro/nano-tribology to the interpretation of dry friction. Proc IMechE, Part C: J Mech Eng Sci214: 11–22 (2000)
Aoike T, Uehara H, Yamanobe T, Komoto T. Comparison of macro- and nanotribological behavior with surface plastic deformation of polystyrene. Langmuir17: 2153–2159 (2001)
Luan B, Robbins M O. The breakdown of continuum models for mechanical contacts. Nature435: 929–932 (2005)
Luan B, Robbins M O. Contact of single asperities with varying adhesion: Comparing continuum mechanics to atomistic simulations. Phys Rev E74: 026111 (2006)
Luan B, Robbins M O. Hybrid atomistic/continuum study of contact and friction between rough solids. Tribol Lett36: 1–16 (2009)
Ying T N, Hsu S M. Asperity-asperity friction as measured by a two-ball collision apparatus. Tribol Trans39: 33–42 (1996)
Ying T N, Hsu S M. Effect of friction on subsurface strain distribution of steel. Tribol Trans40: 420–435 (1997)
Hsu S M, Shen M C, Ying T N, Wang Y S, Lee S W. Tribology of silicon-based ceramics. Ceram Trans42: 189–205 (1994)
Fuller D. Theory and Practice of Lubrication for Engineers. New York: Wiley, 1956.
Booser E R, Ed. CRC Handbook of Lubrication: Theory and Practice of Tribology, Volume II: Theory and Design. CRC Press, 2010.
Szeri A Z. Fluid Film Lubrication: Theory and Design. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005.
Dowson D, Higginson G R, Whitaker A V. Elasto-hydrodynamic lubrication: A survey of isothermal solutions. J Mech Eng Sci4: 121–126 (1962)
Sibley L B, Orcutt F K. Elasto-hydrodynamic lubrication of rolling-contact surfaces. ASLE Trans4: 234–249 (1961)
Hamrock B J, Dowson D. Isothermal elastohydrodynamic lubrication of point contacts: Part 1-Theoretical formulation. J Lubr Technol98: 223–228 (1976)
Beerbower A. Boundary lubrication-scientific and technical forecast report. US Army Report AD747336, 1972.
Beerbower A. A critical survey of mathematical models for boundary lubrication. STLE Trans14: 90–104 (1971)
Hsu S M, Gates R S. Effect of materials on tribochemical reactions between hydrocarbon and surfaces. J Phys D: Appl Phys39: 3128–3137 (2006)
Hsu S M, Gates R S. Boundary lubrication and boundary lubricating films. In CRC Handbook of Modern Tribology, Bhushan B Ed. New York: CRC Press LLC, 2001: 455–492.
Sambasivan S, Hsieh S, Fischer D, Hsu S M. Effect of self-assembled monolayer film order on nanofriction. J Vac Sci Technol A24: 1484–1488 (2006)
Liu Y, Evans D F, Song Q, Grainger D W. Structure and frictional properties of self-assembled surfactant monolayers. Langmuir12: 1235–1244 (1996)
Clark D B, Klaus E E, Hsu S M. The role of iron and copper in the oxidative degradation of lubricants. Lubr Eng41: 280–287 (1985)
Hsu S M, Klaus E E, Cheng H S. A mechano-chemical descriptive model for wear under mixed lubrication conditions. Wear 128: 307–323 (1988)
Hélouvry A, Brian P D, De Wit C C. A survey of models, analysis tools and compensation methods for the control of machines with friction. Automatica30: 1083–1138 (1994)
Persson B N J. Theory of friction and boundary lubrication. Phys Rev B48: 18140–18158 (1993)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
This article is published with open access at Springerlink.com
Stephen HSU. He obtained his PhD degree at Pa State University under Prof. EE Klaus on Tribology. He worked four years at Amoco Chemicals then joined NIST in 1978. In 2007, he joined City University of Hong Kong as a Chaired Professor and Head of Manufacturing Engineering Department. Since 2009, he is Professor of Engineering and Applied Science at George Washington University. His current research interests are energy efficient buildings, wind energy, energy efficiency, fuel economy, surface textures, self-repair, and advanced lubricant development.
Fei ZHAO. He received his PhD degree in Physical Chemistry from Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, CAS in 2010. Then he joined the Henan Key Laboratory of Materials Tribology at Henan University of Science and Technology. He has been working with Prof. Hsu as a post doctor in the George Washington University since 2012. His research interests include superlubricity of DLC coatings by PECVD/PVD, current-carrying tribology and fuel economy improvement by surface texturing.
Rights and permissions
Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 International License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0 ), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
About this article
Cite this article
Hsu, S., Ying, C. & Zhao, F. The nature of friction: A critical assessment. Friction 2, 1–26 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40544-013-0033-z
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40544-013-0033-z