Instability and friction

A review on the stability analysis of solids in unilateral and frictional contact is given. The presentation is focussed on the stability of an equilibrium position of an elastic solid in frictional contact with a fixed or moving obstacle. The problem of divergence instability and the obtention of a criterion of static stability are discussed first for the case of a fixed obstacle. The possibility of flutter instability is then considered for a steady sliding equilibrium with a moving obstacle. The steady sliding solution is generically unstable by flutter and leads to a dynamic response which can be chaotic or periodic. This dynamic response leads to the generation of stick-slip-separation waves on the contact surface in a similar way as Schallamach waves in statics. Illustrating examples and principal results recently obtained in the literature are reported. Some problems of friction-induced vibration and noise emittence, such as brake squeal for example, can be interpreted in this spirit. (C) 2003 Academie des sciences/Editions scientifiques et medicales Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved.