Friction between rubber and a counter surface has interested many researchers because of its huge practical importance. Rubber components are applied in various industrial applications such as tires, rubber seals, wiper blades, conveyor belts and syringes. The friction between a rubber surface in contact with a rigid surface is still not fully understood. The complexity lies partially in the viscoelastic nature of elastomers next to various parameters such as roughness, contact pressure and sliding velocity. In addition, several complex phenomena occur at the interface between rubber and the rough rigid body in contact, which can significantly influence the tribological behavior of the system.
The contact and friction of rubber with a focus on the importance and influence of a tribo-modified surface layer is studied both theoretically and experimentally in this work.