Analysis of Contact States between Rubber and Mated Surface Using X-ray Imaging Method －Studies on Contact States of Rubber Sliding on Spherical Hard Solids

English Abstract

Analysis of Contact States between Rubber and Mated Surface Using X-ray Imaging Method －Studies on Contact States of Rubber Sliding on Spherical Hard Solids－

Naoya AMINO ^*1

Yasuhiro ISHIKAWA ^*1

Masakazu TAKEUCHI ^{*1 *2}

^*1:Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd. Hiratsuka, Kanagawa, Japan

^*2:Present address ; Mitsubishi Motors Corporation, Hashime-cho, Okazaki,Aichi, Japan

Nippon Gomu Kyokaishi,(2011),84(4),117-123 Original Paper in Japanese

Frictional experiments of rubber against spherical hard solids were carried out. The contact states between the rubber specimens and the spherical solids were observed by using X-ray imaging method in SPring-8; Beam line 19B2; X-ray energy=25keV; Pixcel size of X-ray images=10μm. The real time observation by using the brilliant X-ray of the synchrotron was applied to characterize the contact states of opaque rubbers during friction. Under the following conditions, diameter of glass sphere as the mated surface = 3mm and transverse velocity of the mated surface = 0.3mm/s, the contacting geometry and frictional force were measured simultaneously, and then relationship between the contact state and the frictional force was investigated. The frictional force shows a correlation with the contact area or the shear stress of the rubber. Consequently, it was summarized that the real time observation during friction using Xray imaging is very effective to understand the mechanism of rubber friction. The synchrotron radiation experiments were performed at BL19B2 in the SPring-8 with approval of the Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute (JASRI) (Proposal No. 2005B0877).

(Received on October 28, 2010)
(Accepted on March 2, 2011)

Keywords: Friction, Contact, Tribology, X-ray Imaging, Rubber, Spherical Solid