Friction,
Adhesion and Contact Mechanics
AFM
force-distance (fd) curves are used
to study the adhesion
of individual polymer chains,
soft ultrathin films and soft
microparticles at
the nanoscale. In addition, we
use friction force microscopy (FFM)
to investigate the nanoscale friction properties of material
surfaces.
We
are also interested in the frictional
and adhesive properties of polymers and especially rubbers at larger
scales (μm to cm). In particular, we work
systematically on the frictional
behaviour of rubbers on
ice
and snow (with Dr Jane Blackford,
IMP, UoE) using home-built cryo-tribometers and adhesion
testers.
PhD
students: Tom Barraclough, Samantha Ella, Tamas Parkanyi.
Former
PhD
student: Daniel Higgins, Gerasimos (Gerry)
Skouvaklis.
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