Related papers: Friction at Atomic-Scale Surface Steps: Experiment…
Theory predicts that the currents in scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and the attractive forces measured in atomic force microscopy (AFM) are directly related. Atomic images obtained in an attractive AFM mode should therefore be…
While fluids near a solid surface are at the core of applications in energy storage/conversion, electrochemistry/electrowetting and adsorption/catalysis, their nanoscale behavior remains only partially deciphered. Beyond conventional…
In this $\ll$ contribution we address the question to what extent surface charges affect contact-mode scanning force microscopy measurements. % We therefore designed samples where we could generate localized electric field distributions…
The mechanical response of a wet granular layer to imposed shear is studied experimentally at low applied normal stress. The granular material is immersed in water and the shear is applied by sliding a plate resting on the upper surface of…
We report in situ Atomic Force Microscopy experiments which reveal the presence of nanoscale damage cavities ahead of a stress-corrosion crack tip in glass. Their presence might explain the departure from linear elasticity observed in the…
Sliding friction across a thin soft lubricant film typically occurs by stick-slip, the lubricant fully solidifying at stick, yielding and flowing at slip. The static friction force per unit area preceding slip is known from molecular…
We report active control of the friction force at the contact between a nanoscale asperity and a La$_{0.55}$Ca$_{0.45}$MnO$_3$ (LCMO) thin film using electric fields. We use friction force microscopy under ultrahigh vacuum conditions to…
Ultimately, brittle fracture involves breaking atomic bonds. However, we still lack a clear picture of what happens in the highly deformed region around a moving crack tip. Consequently, we still cannot link nano to atomic-scale phenomena…
Changes in the mechanical properties of granular materials, induced by variations in the intrinsic compressibility of the particles, are investigated by means of numerical simulations based on the combination of the Finite Element and…
We analyze the quantum mechanics of the friction experienced by a small system as it moves non-destructively with velocity $v$ over a surface. Specifically, we model the interactions between the system and the surface with a…
Using a Monte Carlo method on a lattice model of a vicinal surface with short-range step-step attraction, we show that, at low temperature and near equilibrium, there is an inhibition of the motion of macro-steps. This inhibition leads to a…
The morphology of an elastic strip subject to vertical compressive stress on a frictional rigid substrate is investigated by a combination of theory and experiment. We find a rich variety of morphologies, which -when the bending elasticity…
Ionic liquids, salts in the liquid state under ambient conditions, are of great interest as precision lubricants. Ionic liquids form layered structures at surfaces, yet it is not clear how this nano-structure relates to their lubrication…
Friction is ubiquitous in daily life, from nanoscale machines to large engineering components. By probing the intricate interplay between system parameters and frictional behavior, scientists seek to unveil the underlying mechanisms that…
In light of the race towards macroscale superlubricity of graphitic contacts, the effect of grain boundaries on their frictional properties becomes of central importance. Here, we elucidate the unique frictional mechanisms characterizing…
The aim of this paper is to revisit the calculation of atom-surface quantum friction in the quantum field theory formulation put forward by Barton [New J. Phys. 12 (2010) 113045]. We show that the power dissipated into field excitations and…
The tribology between surfaces can have a profound impact on the response of a mechanical system, such as how granular particles are driven to flow. In this work, we perform experiments that time-resolve the tangential and normal components…
The morphological development of step edge patterns in the presence of meandering instability during step flow growth is studied by simulations and numerical integration of a continuum model. It is demonstrated that the kink…
In this work, we describe a possible mechanism to set the radial scale of zonal flows, which may be applicable to the $E \times B$ staircase found in the global full-f simulations such as [G. Dif-Pradalier et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 114,…
We study the onset and development of ledge instabilities during growth of vicinal metal surfaces using kinetic Monte Carlo simulations. We observe the formation of periodic patterns at [110] close packed step edges on surfaces vicinal to…