Determination of Contact Area During Small-Scale Friction Experiments by Means of Continuous Stiffness Measurements

Despite the hallmark observation of the almost linear relationship between friction force and contact area in the case of “dry” friction, the direct measurement of this dependency is an area of active research [1, 2]. In this study, a new approach to the measurement of contact area during friction experiments is proposed. The method is based on the well known proportionality between the contact area and the contact stiffness raised to the second power [3]. The main benefit of the proposed method is its broad applicability. Preliminary measurements of the dependence between friction and contact area are discussed.