Electrical charges and tribology of insulating materials

Comptes Rendus de l Acad\'emie des Sciences - Series IV - Physics t2, S\'erie IV (05/07/2001) 761-774 Electrical charges generation occurring during contact and friction of insulating materials has been identified for a long time. However the contribution of these electrical charges to the friction behaviour is usually neglected in the energetical balances. Based on published results and on our own experimental results on the ability of the dielectric materials to trap charges, we show in this study that the interaction energy during friction depends markedly on these trapped charges. Eventually, we propose the complementary use of the "mirror " method and of surface forces measurements to obtain a quantitative evaluation of this contribution. dielectric behaviour / friction / triboelectrification / interfacial interactions / surface free energy / space charge / surface forces