FRICTION
Introduction
• Friction is a force that resists the movement of
two contacting surfaces that slide relative to
one another.
• This force always acts tangent to the surface at
the points of contact and is directed so as to
oppose the possible or existing motion
between the surfaces.
Characteristics of dry friction
• Dry friction (Coulomb friction) occurs between the
contacting surfaces of bodies where there is no
lubricating fluid.
Theory of dry friction
• From the F.B.D the floor exerts an uneven
distribution of both normal force and frictional
force.
• For equilibrium the normal forces must act
upwards to balance the block’s weight W, and
the frictional forces act to the left to prevent
the applied force P from moving the block to
the right.
Equilibrium
• The effect of the distributed normal and
frictional loadings is indicated by their
resultants N and F on the F.B.D.
Equilibrium cont’d
• The location of N coincides with the centroid
or geometric center of the normal force
distribution.
• To satisfy moment equilibrium about point O;
Ph
Wx Ph or x
W
Impending motion
• In cases where the contact surfaces are
“slippery”, the frictional force F may not be
great enough to balance P, and the block will
tend to slip.
Impending motion cont’d
• As P is slowly increased, F correspondingly
increases until it attains a certain maximum value
Fs called the limiting static frictional force. Beyond
this value, the block will move.
Fs s N
Fs 1 s N
s tan 1 tan tan s
1
N N
• μs is the coefficient of static friction and φs is the
angle of static friction
Motion
Motion
• If the magnitude of P acting on the block is increased so
that it becomes slightly greater than Fs, the frictional
force at the contacting surface will drop to a smaller
value Fk, called the kinetic frictional force.
Fk k N
1 Fk 1 k N
k tan tan tan k
1
N N
• μk is the coefficient of kinetic friction and φk is the angle
of kinetic friction
Characteristics of dry friction
• The frictional force acts tangent to the
contacting surfaces in a direction opposed to
the motion or tendency for motion of one
surface relative to another.
• The maximum static frictional force Fs that can
be developed is independent of the area of
contact, provided the normal pressure is not
very low nor great enough to severely deform
the contacting surfaces.
Characteristics of dry friction cont’d
• The maximum static frictional force is generally
greater than the kinetic frictional force for any two
surfaces of contact.
• When slipping at the surface of contact is about to
occur, the maximum static frictional force is
proportional to the normal force such that Fs = μsN
• When slipping at the contact surface is occurring,
the kinetic frictional force is proportional to the
normal force such that Fk = μkN
Example 1
• The uniform crate shown has a mass of 20kg.
If a force of P = 80N is applied to the crate,
determine if it remains in equilibrium. The
coefficient of static friction is 0.3
Example 1 cont’d
Example 1 cont’d
F 0; 80 cos 30 F 0
x
F 0; 80 sin 30 N 196.2 0
y c
M 0; 80 sin 30(0.4) 80 cos 30(0.2) N ( x) 0
o c
F 69.3 N N c 236 N x 0.00908m
• No tipping will occur since x ˂ 0.4m. The
maximum frictional force is 0.3(236) = 70.8N.
Since F = 69.3N ˂ 70.8N, the crate will not slip
although it is very close to doing so.
Example 2
• The uniform 10kg ladder rests against a
smooth wall at B, and end A rests on the
rough horizontal plane for which the
coefficient of static friction is 0.3. Determine
the angle of inclination of the ladder and the
normal reaction at B if the ladder is on the
verge of slipping.
Example 2 cont’d
Example 2 cont’d
Example 2 cont’d
F y 0;
N A 10(9.81) 0 N A 98.1N
FA s N A 0.3(98.1) 29.4 N
F x 0;
29.4 N B 0 N B 29.4 N
M A 0
29.4(4 sin ) 10(9.81)(2 cos ) 0
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