Sliding Interaction of Surfaces

Abstract

This chapter reviews the basics of friction interaction of surfaces. The material presents data for friction coefficient for both solid materials and skin. Further, the authors review contact modeling for both solids and soft materials. The emphasis is on the tribological behavior of soft materials across species. These include the behavior and modeling of friction behavior of human skin as well as the adhesion and friction of fibrillar material in biological attachments. It is shown that, in general, the deformation behavior of skin, soft tissue in general, is complex and depends on many factors (gender, ethnicity, mechanical composition, and functional layering of subsurface layers). This complexity reflects in the sophistication of both the mathematical models developed and the proper data to be substituted in these models to accurately predict behavior.