Scribd
Upload
107 views9 pages

Forces of Friction

Forces of Friction summarizes the key concepts of static and kinetic friction: 1) Static friction occurs between stationary surfaces and can prevent motion, up to a maximum static friction force determined by the normal force and coefficient of static friction. 2) Kinetic friction occurs between sliding surfaces and provides a constant opposing force, determined by the normal force and lower coefficient of kinetic friction. 3) The transition from static to kinetic friction often causes jerky motion as the friction force abruptly decreases.

Uploaded by

Laina Hela
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
107 views9 pages

Forces of Friction

Forces of Friction summarizes the key concepts of static and kinetic friction: 1) Static friction occurs between stationary surfaces and can prevent motion, up to a maximum static friction force determined by the normal force and coefficient of static friction. 2) Kinetic friction occurs between sliding surfaces and provides a constant opposing force, determined by the normal force and lower coefficient of kinetic friction. 3) The transition from static to kinetic friction often causes jerky motion as the friction force abruptly decreases.

Uploaded by

Laina Hela
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 9

Forces of Friction

The calculations for fluid friction are beautiful, but difficult. Instead, we are
going to focus on the two types of dry friction: static and kinetic. Dry friction
occurs when two solid surfaces are in contact.

speed
friction

Even seemingly smooth surfaces are rough at the microscopic level. Dry
friction can occur because rough surfaces get caught on each other. This
causes microscopic deformations to occur. Friction can also come from other
sources like chemical bonding between surfaces.
Dry friction is difficult to model because surfaces can have a wide range of
shapes and chemical compositions. These 5 rules are broken as often as they
are followed.

Friction scales linearly with the normal force.


Friction is not affected by the area of contact between surfaces.
Stationary objects have more friction than sliding objects.
Sliding friction is not affected by sliding velocity.
You can look up the magnitude of friction for each pair of materials.

This friction model is only a "rough" approximation, so don't expect much


precision or accuracy.

Static Friction
Static means not moving. Static friction is friction between solid objects that
are not moving relative to each other. For example, static friction can prevent
an object from sliding down a sloped surface.

The static friction force balances applied forces to keep the object
stationary. We can estimate the maximum static friction force.

FN

Fs

v=0

Fs ≤ μs FN
Fs = force of static friction [N, newtons]
direction and magnitude change to keep acceleration zero
but only up to the maximum value

FN = normal force [N, newtons]

μs = mu, coefficient of friction [no units]


FN

Fs

v=0

The coefficients of friction(μ) are different for each pair of surfaces.


Friction Coefficient Data Table (wikipedia)

0.42 kg

Fs F=?

Example: You place a 0.42 kg glass from IKEA called POKAL on a flat copper
pan. How much horizontal force will you have to apply to get the glass to
move?
solution
10 kg

Fs 10 kg F=?

Example: A 10 kg wood block is at rest on top of another 10 kg wood block


which is resting on a concrete slab. How much force will it take to overcome
the static friction between the ground and the lower box?
solution

5.0 kg

0.0 kg

μk = 0.47
μs = 0.61

reset m= 0 kg

Example: Calculate the maximum value the hanging mass could have before
the two masses begin to move. You can test you answer in the simulation.

The 5 kg block is made of aluminum and the table is made of steel.


Friction Coefficient Data Table (wikipedia)
hint
solution

Kinetic Friction
Kinetic means motion. Kinetic friction is a force that occurs when two
surfaces in contact slide against each other. The kinetic friction force remains
constant over a wide range of speeds.

Fk = μk FN
Fk = force of kinetic friction [N,newtons]
pointed opposite the direction of motion

FN = normal force [N,newtons]

μk = mu, coefficient of friction [no units]

FN

Fk

In most situations, the friction force doesn't depend on the amount of contact
between surfaces. This is because a larger contact area spreads out the
normal force.

0.42 kg

Fk

Example: You slide the 0.42 kg POKAL glass cup on a glass table at 3.0 m/s.
Find the force of kinetic friction, and the time for the cup to come to a stop.
Friction Coefficient Data Table (wikipedia)
solution

Static friction will match an applied force until the applied force exceeds the
maximum value of static friction. Forces above that point will cause motion.

Once the body is moving, friction transitions to kinetic. Kinetic friction is lower
and less precise. This transition often causes a jerky motion as the friction
force quickly drops to the lower value.
friction (N)
125

100

75

kinetic

ic
50 at
st

25

applied force (N)


25 50 75 100 125 150 175 200 225 250 275

Example: Imagine the graph above is for a 20 kg box. Calculate the


coefficients of kinetic and static friction.
kinetic friction solution
static friction solution

Click to Run

Simulation: Calculate the coefficients of kinetic and static friction? Use the
default settings on the friction mode for the simulation above.

coefficient of static friction solution


coefficient of kinetic friction solution
FN

Fs
m

Fg Θ

Investigation: As we increase the angle of an incline, a stationary mass on the


incline will begin to slide.

What variables determine the coefficient of static friction?


solution

What variables determine the coefficient of kinetic friction?


solution

Back

You might also like