Mechanics, Department System Dynamics and Friction Physics

Contact mechanics of the "third body" and the resulting quasistatic friction properties

The third body essentially determines tribological properties of materials but is – due to complexity of the relevant processes – very difficult to access both for theoretical and experimental investigations. It is therefore sensible to isolate some of the aspects of the third body dynamics and to study them in a "pure form". In the present project, we focus our attention solely on the contact mechanics of interfacial particles and resulting quasistatic tribological properties without considering other influencing factors as chemical reactions and even without analyzing the mechanisms of the particle formation. In the model the local friction and adhesion phenomena will be included.

Project carrier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft

Project head: Dr.-Ing. Qiang Li

Executive research assistant: Dr.-Ing. Qiang Li