Advanced testing of adhesion and friction with a microtribometer

To optimize the tribological performance of miniaturized systems, adequate experimental means are needed. Current microtribometers suffer from inability to ensure parallel flat-on-flat contact and often experience metrological problems related to the geometry of the force sensing element. The present work demonstrates how these limitations can be removed in either homemade or commercial microtribometers by using a self-aligning system of specimen holders and an improved force sensor based on a symmetric design principle. Preliminary tests conducted on a polyvinylsiloxane∕glass tribopair confirm the satisfactory operation of the setup and show no effect of applied load on pull-off force and friction coefficient.