Rubber friction directional asymmetry

Abstract

In rubber friction studies it is usually assumed that the friction force does not depend on the sliding direction, unless the substrate has anisotropic properties, like a steel surface grinded in one direction. Here we will present experimental results for rubber friction, where we observe a strong asymmetry between forward and backward sliding, where forward and backward refer to the run-in direction of the rubber block. The observed effect could be very important in tire applications, where directional properties of the rubber friction could be induced during braking.