Main Mechanisms fro Friction Induced Vibration

Friction-induced vibration is a manifestation of friction that requires a great deal of effort to combat, firstly because of its wide variety, and secondly because it occurs relatively frequently, particularly in dry contacts without lubricant. The most classic manifestations of frictional vibrations are crackling, chattering and squealing. In the automotive sector, for example, the mechanical components most affected by frictional vibrations are braking systems (especially disc brakes), windscreen wipers and side-window sealing devices (window wipers). Frictional vibrations are often harmful and, like wear and tear, need to be counteracted.

The aim of this article is to present the main phenomena behind frictional vibrations, so as to facilitate an efficient search for solutions.

To this end, after a brief description of the specifics of frictional vibrations, the article presents a review of the minimal models used to describe three of the main vibration generation scenarios in contact. These scenarios are jerky sliding, arcing and mode coupling.

Even if there is a general formulation for dealing with these three mechanisms (§ 5 ), these minimal models enable us to pinpoint the physical meaning of each of the friction vibration scenarios, and also provide a quantitative tool for identifying potential remedies, which are very different from one scenario to the next.

The first mechanism presented (§ 2 ) is jerky sliding. It is characterized by successive sticking and sliding phases. Analysis of the phenomenon shows that its main cause is a difference between the coefficient...