Stick-slip vs. smooth sliding in the multicontact interface

The stick-slip and smooth sliding regimes of motion for the multicontact frictional interface are studied within the earthquake-like model. It is shown that the stick-slip appears when two necessary conditions are fulfilled: first, the system must be soft enough for the elastic instability to emerge, and second, it must be ageing of the interface. The stick-slip exists only for an interval of sliding velocities v(1) < v(d) < v(2), where both boundary velocities v(1,2) are determined by the ageing rate. Copyright (C) EPLA, 2015