Speaker
Description
Friction is a ubiquitous phenomenon that greatly affects our everyday lives and
is responsible for large amounts of energy loss in industrialised societies.
Layered materials such as graphene have interesting frictional properties and
are often used as (additives to) lubricants to reduce friction and protect
against wear. Experimental Atomic Force Microscopy studies and detailed
simulations have shown a number of intriguing effects such as friction
strengthening and dependence of friction on the number of layers covering a
surface. Here, we propose a simple, fundamental, model for friction on thin
sheets. We use our model to explain a variety of seemingly contradictory
experimental as well as numerical results. We also use it to study thermal
effects and aging in these systems.
