COURSE:

CE 201 (STATICS)

LECTURE NO.:

37

FACULTY:

DR. SHAMSHAD AHMAD

DEPARTMENT:

CIVIL ENGINEERING

UNIVERSITY:

KING FAHD UNIVERSITY OF PETROLEUM

& MINERALS, DHAHRAN, SAUDI ARABIA

TEXT BOOK:

ENGINEERING MECHANICS-STATICS
by R.C. HIBBELER, PRENTICE HALL

LECTURE NO. 37
DRY FRICTION

Objectives:

To introduce the concept of dry friction

DEFINITION OF FRICTION

Friction may be defined as a force of resistance

acting on a body, which prevents or retards
slipping of the body relative to a second body or
surface with which it is in contact.

Friction force always acts tangent to the surface of

the body in contact to a second body or surface.

TYPES OF FRICTION

Fluid friction exists when the contacting

surfaces are separated by a film of fluid (i.e.,
gas or liquid). Fluid friction is studied in fluid
mechanics

Dry friction or Coulomb friction occurs

between the contacting surfaces of bodies in
absence of a lubricating fluid.

THEORY OF DRY FRICTION

Development of Frictional Force (F):
Let us consider a pulling force P
applied to a block of uniform weight,
W, resting on a rough horizontal
surface, as shown in figure below:
The frictional force, F acts always
parallel to the rough surface and
the normal force acts always
perpendicular to the rough surface

Under the effect of the external

forces P and W, two reacting forces
(normal force N and frictional force
F) are developed, as shown in figure
below:

The frictional force, F always

opposes the motion of the body
The frictional force, F increases
with increase in applied force P till
F reaches to a maximum value,
called limiting frictional force Fs.

THEORY OF DRY FRICTION

Limiting Static Frictional Force (Fs):
The limiting friction force Fs is the maximum frictional force
which can develop between a rough surface and a body

Experimentally, it has been determined that the limiting frictional

force Fs is directly proportional to the resultant normal reaction N.
This may be expressed mathematically as:
Fs N

Fs = s N

where the constant of proportionality, s , is called the coefficient of

static friction
The coefficient of static friction, s , depends on the contact
materials
Typical values of s are given in the following table:
Contact materials
Metal on ice
Wood on wood
Leather on wood
Leather on metal
Aluminum on aluminum

Coefficient of Static Friction (s)

0.03 0.05
0.30 0.70
0.20 0.50
0.30 0.60
1.10 1.70

THEORY OF DRY FRICTION

Angle of Static Friction

The angle that the resultant Rs of the normal force N and limiting
static frictional force Fs makes with the normal force is called the
angle of static friction s , as shown in the following figure:

Referring the above figure, the expression for the angle of static
friction s can be obtained in terms of the coefficient of static
friction s , as follows:
1 Fs
1 s N
1
1
s = tan = tan
tan

tan
s
=

=
s
s

N
N

THEORY OF DRY FRICTION

Kinetic Frictional Force (Fk):
When the applied force P exceeds limiting friction force Fs, the
limiting friction force Fs gets significantly reduced and body starts
moving. The frictional force which acts between the rough surface
and the body under motion is called kinetic frictional force Fk.

Experiments with sliding blocks indicate that the magnitude of the

resultant kinetic frictional force Fk is directly proportional to the
magnitude of the resultant normal reaction N
This may be expressed mathematically as: Fk N Fk = k N
where the constant of proportionality, k , is called the coefficient
of kinetic friction
Typical values of k are approximately taken as 75% of the values
of s (i.e., k = 0.75 s )

THEORY OF DRY FRICTION

Angle of Kinetic Friction

The angle that the resultant Rk of the normal force N and limiting
kinetic frictional force Fk makes with the normal force is called the
angle of kinetic friction k , as shown in the following figure:

Referring the above figure, the expression for the angle of static
friction k can be obtained in terms of the coefficient of static
friction k , as follows:
1 Fk
1 k N
1
1
k = tan = tan
tan

tan
k
=

=
k
k

N
N

THEORY OF DRY FRICTION

Sliding or Tipping:
Whether the block will be sliding or tipping (overturning), may be
known by calculating the value of x considering the equilibrium of
the block, as follows:

about point O

=0

W .x + P.h = 0
Ph
x=
W
If x a/2 the block will be sliding
If x > a/2 the block will be tipping
(overturning)

THEORY OF DRY FRICTION

State of the Motion of the Block:
When P < Fs, the block will be in The state of motion of the block can
the state of stable equilibrium
be graphically represented as shown

When P = Fs, the block will tend to

slip, however no motion would take
place. Such state of the block is
called either the state of unstable
equilibrium or the state of impending
motion (i.e., just about to move)

When P > Fs, the block will start

moving after a drop of frictional
force from Fs to Fk. Such state of
the block is called the state of
motion.

in the following figure:

Multiple Choice Problems

1. A block placed on a rough surface is subjected to a force P. If the
limiting frictional force between the block and the rough surface
is Fs, the block will be in state of stable equilibrium when
(a) P < Fs
(b) P = Fs
(c) P > Fs
(d) None of these
Ans: (a)
Feedback:
Friction force, greater than the applied force, will keep the block
in the state of stable equilibrium.