Friction of Rough Soft Matter Contacts: Local Investigations Through Image Correlation Technique

The friction induced in contacts is a key feature concerning functionality of mechanisms, reliability of systems, energy consumption… Friction on soft matter occurs in many applications (tire/road contacts, touch-sensitive exploration, micro-manipulation of biological items…) as well as in nature. The latter offers various examples of how a topographic surface pattern may control friction. The result is a complex combination of phenomena: adhesion, elastic ratio of bodies in contact, viscous flow, plasticity occurrence, and topography interaction. The role of this latter phenomenon essentially lies in the splitting of the contact area between the two contacting materials and plays an important role on friction response when coupled with adhesion.