Contribution of fine filler particles to energy dissipation during wet sliding of elastomer compounds on a rough surface

Elastomer compounds reinforced with precipitated silica can exhibit elevated wet sliding friction on a rough surface in comparison with corresponding compounds filled with carbon black particles. The underlying mechanism is currently not well understood. To unravel this puzzling observation, the variation of wet sliding friction with filler volume fraction is examined at the sliding speed of the order of 1 m s-1 under different lubrication conditions. Depending on the lubrication liquid-water or ethanol-a compound that shows both higher bulk hysteretic loss and lower modulus does not always exhibit a higher wet sliding friction. A thorough characterization of the bulk rheology of the compounds investigated fails to provide the rationale for such behaviour, thus constituting an apparent violation of the conventional viscoelastic understanding of rubber friction on a rough surface. On the other hand, the detected lowering of friction when the lubrication liquid is changed from water to ethanol resembles the effect of liquid medium on interfacial adhesion reported in the literature. Hence, it is suggested that a stronger interfacial attractive interaction should exist in water between the road surface and silica particles on the compound surface immediately next to the road surface. This should be related to the elevated wet sliding friction detected for silica-filled compounds under water lubrication