Calculations of the coefficient of friction under elastic contact conditions

Expressions for the friction coefficient were derived for the case of elastic contact between rough materials. The computation was based on the assumption that the friction force in the case under consideration is due to hysteresis losses during the deformation of a thin surface layer of one friction pair component by protuberances on the counterpart surface and due to molecular interaction at the solid/solid interface in the contact zones. The minimum value of the friction coefficient was calculated, and it was shown that it depends on the degree of surface roughness, physicomechanical properties of friction pair materials and the magnitude of tangential stresses ₀ at the solid/solid interface.