Electrical charges and tribology of insulating materials

Electrical charge generation occurring during contact and friction of insul ating materials has long been identified. However the contribution of these electrical charges to the frictional behaviour is usually neglected. Based on published results and on our own experimental work on the ability of th e dielectric materials to trap charges, we show in this study that the inte raction energy during friction depends markedly on these trapped charges. E ventually, we propose the complementary use of the 'mirror' method and of s urface force measurements to obtain a quantitative evaluation of this contr ibution. (C) 2001 Academie des sciences/Editions scientifiques et medicales Elsevier SAS.