Fundamentals of Friction Modeling

INTRODUCTION Friction modeling has been steadily gaining in interest over the last few decades. However, owing to the complexity of the friction phenomenon, no comprehensive, practicable friction model that shows all of the experimentally observed aspects of friction force dynamics in one formulation is available. Most available friction models are, in essence, empirical, that is, based on limited observations and interpretations. In this sense, the resulting models are valid only for the specific scope of test conditions, such as the level and type of excitation, used to obtain the data. On the other hand, development of simulation models and, where possible, predictive theories, at scales from atomic, through continuum, to useful engineering models, can fill empty gaps in the toolboxes available to designers and analysts.