[en] Solid contacts involving soft materials are important in mechanical engineering or biomechanics. Experimentally, such contacts have been shown to shrink significantly under shear, an effect which is usually explained using adhesion models. Here we show that quantitative agreement with recent high-load experiments can be obtained, with no adjustable parameter, using a non-adhesive model, provided that finite deformations are taken into account. Analysis of the model uncovers the basic mechanisms underlying anisotropic shear-induced area reduction, local contact lifting being the dominant one. We confirm experimentally the relevance of all those mechanisms, by tracking the shear-induced evolution of tracers inserted close to the surface of a smooth elastomer sphere in contact with a smooth glass plate. Our results suggest that finite deformations are an alternative to adhesion, when interpreting a variety of sheared contact experiments involving soft materials.
LENGIEWICZ, Jakub ; University of Luxembourg > Faculty of Science, Technology and Communication (FSTC) > Engineering Research Unit ; Institute of Fundamental Technological Research of the Polish Academy of Sciences (IPPT PAN)
de Souza, Mariana; Univ Lyon > Ecole Centrale de Lyon, ENISE, ENTPE, CNRS > Laboratoire de Tribologie et Dynamique des Systemes LTDS
Lahmar, Mohamed A.; Univ Lyon > Ecole Centrale de Lyon, ENISE, ENTPE, CNRS > Laboratoire de Tribologie et Dynamique des Systemes LTDS
Courbon, Cédric; Univ Lyon > Ecole Centrale de Lyon, ENISE, ENTPE, CNRS > Laboratoire de Tribologie et Dynamique des Systemes LTDS
Dalmas, Davy
Stupkiewicz, Stanislaw; Institute of Fundamental Technological Research of the Polish Academy of Sciences (IPPT PAN)
Scheibert, Julien; Univ Lyon > Ecole Centrale de Lyon, ENISE, ENTPE, CNRS > Laboratoire de Tribologie et Dynamique des Systemes LTDS
External co-authors :
yes
Language :
English
Title :
Finite deformations govern the anisotropic shear-induced area reduction of soft elastic contacts
Publication date :
October 2020
Journal title :
Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids
ISSN :
0022-5096
Publisher :
Elsevier, Oxford, United Kingdom
Volume :
143
Pages :
104056
Peer reviewed :
Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi
Focus Area :
Physics and Materials Science Computational Sciences