Viscoelastic contact mechanics

Hutcheson, S. A., and McKenna, G. B., Nanosphere embedding into polymer surfaces a viscoelastic contact mechanics analysis, Phys. Rev. Lett., 94, 076103-1 to 076103-4 (2005) Erratum, Phys. Rev. Lett., 94,189902-1 (2005). 

Sakai, M., Philosophical Magazine, Vol. 86, 5607-5624, Elastic and viscoelastic contact mechanics of coating/substrate composites in axi-symmetric indentation , (2006). 

I have benefited greatly from correspondence with several colleagues in the preparation of this chapter. These interactions have been particularly important with regard to the section on large-scale viscoelasticity. This section could not have been completed without the help of Dr. C.Y. Hui and Dr. Y.Y. Lin. Helpful comments regarding the entire manuscript from Dr. A.J. Crosby are also acknowledged, as are comments from Dr. W. Unertl, who also supplied preprints of his own unpublished work on viscoelastic contact mechanics. 

Contact mechanics, in the classical sense, describes the behavior of solids in contact under the action of an external load. The first studies in the area of contact mechanics date back to the seminal publication "On the contact of elastic solids of Heinrich Hertz in 1882 [ 1 ]. The original Hertz theory was applied to frictionless non-adhering surfaces of perfectly elastic solids. Lee and Radok [2], Graham [3], and Yang [4] developed the theories of contact mechanics of viscoelastic solids. None of these treatments, however, accounted for the role of interfacial adhesive interactions. 

As mentioned earlier, the contact-mechanics-based experimental studies of interfacial adhesion primarily include (1) direct measurements of surface and interfacial energies of polymers and self-assembled monolayers (2) quantitative studies on the role of interfacial coupling agents in the adhesion of elastomers (3) adhesion of microparticles on surfaces and (4) adhesion of viscoelastic polymer particles. In these studies, a variety of experimental tools have been employed by different researchers. Each one of these tools offers certain advantages over the others. These experimental studies are reviewed in Section 4. 

Some of the recent work in contact mechanics is focused on understanding the adhesion of viscoelastic polymers and dynamic contributions to the adhesion energy this work is summarized in Section 5. Sections 6.1 and 6.2 include some of the current applications of contact mechanics in the field of adhesion science. These include possible studies on contact induced interfacial rearrangements and acid-base type of interactions. 

The second assumption is based on contact mechanics models in which viscoelastic effects that might influence the instability point (pull-off) and adhesion are negligible or can be allowed for. The third assumption is based on representing the cantilever with a point mass model. Simulations using a distributed mass model indicate that ultrasonic vibration of the cantilever is relatively small and in many cases less than 0.05 of the UFM normal deflection (Hirsekorn et al. 1997). 

When the experimentalist set an ambitious objective to evaluate micromechanical properties quantitatively, he will predictably encounter a few fundamental problems. At first, the continuum description which is usually used in contact mechanics might be not applicable for contact areas as small as 1 -10 nm [116,117]. Secondly, since most of the polymers demonstrate a combination of elastic and viscous behaviour, an appropriate model is required to derive the contact area and the stress field upon indentation a viscoelastic and adhesive sample [116,120]. In this case, the duration of the contact and the scanning rate are not unimportant parameters. Moreover, bending of the cantilever results in a complicated motion of the tip including compression, shear and friction effects [131,132]. Third, plastic or inelastic deformation has to be taken into account in data interpretation. Concerning experimental conditions, the most important is to perform a set of calibrations procedures which includes the (x,y,z) calibration of the piezoelectric transducers, the determination of the spring constants of the cantilever, and the evaluation of the tip shape. The experimentalist has to eliminate surface contamination s and be certain about the chemical composition of the tip and the sample. 

Polymers generally exhibit complex tribological behaviors due to different energy dissipation mechanisms, notably those induced by internal friction (chain movement), which is dependent on both time and temperature. Polymer friction is then governed by interfacial interactions and viscoelastic dissipation mechanisms that are operative in the interfacial region and also in the bulk, especially in the case of soft materials. Friction of a polymer can be closely linked to its molecular structure. The role of chain mobility has been studied in the case of elastomers, based on dissipation phenomena during adhesion and friction processes of the elastomer in contact with a silicon wafer covered by a grafted layer [1-5]. 

For both PDMSs, for both substrates, and for all friction speeds, a great effect of normal force is observed. The higher friction coefficient observed at low normal force could be explained by the role of adhesion, which is magnified at low load (where the bulk contribution is lower). The contribution of interfacial interactions (or adhesive contact) is then magnified. These interfacial interactions will activate viscoelastic dissipation mechanisms, increasing the friction resistance. 

Falsafi, A., Deprez, P., Bates, F. S. and Tirrell, M., Direct measurement of adhesion between viscoelastic polymers A contact mechanical approach, J. Rheol, 41, 1349-1364 (1997). 

It has recently become common to use the JKR theory (Johnson, Kendall Roberts, 1971) to extract the surface and inteifacial energies of polymeric materials from adhesion tests with micro-probe instruments such as the Surface Force Apparatus and the Atomic Force Microscope. However the JKR theory strictly applies only to perfectly elastic solids. The paper will review progress in extending the JKR theory to the contact mechanics and adhesion of linear viscoelastic spheres. The observed effects of adhesion hysteresis and rate-dependent adhesion are predicted by the extended eory. 

The contact mechanics of viscoelastic solids in the absence of adhesion is well established, but the case of a layered system calls for further work. In a loading/unloading cycle the maximum contact area is generally reached after the load begins to decrease, as shown in Figure 4. This feature has been demonstrated experimentally by Wahl Unertl (17) using polyvinylethylene in a Scanning Force Microscope. 

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