Eur. Phys. J. E 3, 369-376
Solid-like friction of a polymer chain
Th. Charitat - J.-F. Joanny
Institut Charles Sadron, 6 rue Boussingault, 67083 Strasbourg Cedex, France
charitat@ics.u-strasbg.fr
Received 20 March 2000
Abstract
We propose a simple friction model for isolated polymer chains
on a solid substrate. The chains are
pulled at constant velocity by one end, the other end can
be trapped on the solid substrate on localised sites. We
focus on the energy dissipation due to the traps. This simple model leads
to nontrivial friction laws, depending
on the velocity and the distance between traps. Some refinements of the
model such as the effect of thermal fluctuations are also reported.
PACS
61.41.+e Polymers, elastomers, and plastics -
68.45.-v Solid-fluid interfaces -
81.40.Pq Friction, lubrification, and wear
Copyright EDP Sciences, Società Italiana di Fisica, Springer-Verlag
