The effects of surface texture on natural rubber/metal friction at high pressures

A technique is described that allows the friction of rubber on metal at high pressures (up to 15 MPa) to be measured. A series of experiments were performed investigating the behaviour of rubber under these conditions and the effects that the track surface texture had. It was found that Thirion's law remained effective for describing the friction of rubber under these conditions. It was also observed that, at ∼5 MPa, a crossover occurred and at higher pressures, the smooth tracks resulted in lower friction.