On the load-area relation in rough adhesive contacts

It is well established that, at small loads, a linear relation exists between contact area and reduced pressure for elastic bodies with non-adhesive rough surfaces. In the case of adhesive contacts, however, there is not yet a general consensus on whether or not linearity still holds. In this work evidence is provided, through numerical...

Modelling adhesion and friction in contact problems

The main objective of this thesis is to obtain a better understanding of adhesive contacts and their frictional behaviour. Both natural and man-made surfaces are rough over a wide range of length scales. Tribological studies of rough surfaces need to account for the interactions between these asperities. In this work a sim- ple atomistically...