Effect of the substrate potential on the static friction force in the Frenkel-Kontorova model

Abstract

By using the one-dimensional Frenkel-Kontorova (FK) model, we study the maximum static friction force between the two surface layers which are in contact. The relation between the substrate potential and the static friction force is studied in this paper. The effect of parameters of the upper layer such as the elastic coefficient K on the static friction force are also investigated.Results are obtained for three cases for which the ratio of the atomic distance to the period of potential field is commensurate, or equal to the golden mean, or the spiral mean respectively. The results show that both the form of the substrate potential and the commensurability have sigificant effect on the static friction force.