A friction controllable sliding isolation system was developed and experimentally and analytically investigated by Feng et al. (Feng, Q., Shinozuka, M. & Fujii, S. A. friction controllable sliding isolation system. J. Eng. Mech., ASCE, 1993, 119(6), in press), the control algorithm having been developed based on a key assumption that the structural motion is always in the sliding phase. However...

We report a quartz crystal microbalance study of sliding friction levels in N2, H2O, and superheated He films adsorbed on Pb(111) substrates alternating in and out of the superconducting state. Reductions in friction upon entry into the superconducting state are greater for N2 than He, consistent with a recent theory that linked electronic friction to adsorbate polarizability. Our work also rev...

Friction at the nanoscale has revealed a wealth of behaviours that depart strongly from the long-standing macroscopic laws of Amontons-Coulomb. Here, by using a 'Christmas cracker'-type of system in which a multiwalled nanotube is torn apart between a quartz-tuning-fork-based atomic force microscope (TF-AFM) and a nanomanipulator, we compare the mechanical response of multiwalled carbon nanotub...

Interaction between a structure under base excitation and heavy non-structural elements that it supports is significant in the seismic analysis and design of the structure. Heavy non-structural elements may slide/rock under base excitation, and this dynamic action affects the seismic behavior of the supporting structure. Hence, in this study, a numerical model was presented to describe the seis...

The paper discusses a sliding mode control suitable for compensation of nonlinear microdynamic friction and parameter changes in a ball-screw driven slide system. The conventional, fixed-gain sliding mode control has a limited range of performance in the presence of varying nonlinear friction in submicrometer trajectory tracking. In this work, an algorithm that effectively calculates variable s...

Many types of micro-electro-mechanical-system (MEMS) based products are currently employed in a variety of applications. However, high friction in these systems is a problem which limits the development of MEMS devices in which sliding contacts are involved. The aim of this research is to evaluate the effect of boundary slip on the hydrodynamic friction in a low load lubricated MEMS, in particu...

Sliding parts in nanosystems such as nanoelectromechanical systems and nanomotors increasingly involve large speeds, and rotations as well as translations of the moving surfaces; yet, the physics of high-speed nanoscale friction is so far unexplored. Here, by simulating the motion of drifting and of kicked Au clusters on graphite--a workhorse system of experimental relevance--we demonstrate and...

This paper comparatively studies the tribological behaviour of different types of diamond-like carbon (DLC) coatings in a reciprocating sliding wear test. The results are interpreted in terms of structure and surface morphological characteristics. At the beginning of each reciprocating sliding wear test, the higher coefficient of friction of the DLC coatings reflects the original surface condit...

Sea ice contains flaws including frictional contacts. We aim to describe quantitatively the mechanics of those contacts, providing local physics for geophysical models. With a focus on the internal friction of ice, we review standard micro-mechanical models of friction. The solid’s deformation under normal load may be ductile or elastic. The shear failure of the contact may be by ductile flow, ...

We study the motion of elastic networks driven over a random substrate. Our model which includes local friction forces leads to complex dynamical behavior. We find a transition to a sliding state which belongs to a new universality class. The phase diagram comprises of a pinned state, a stick-slip motion phase, and a free motion phase.