# Contact of a spherical probe with a stretched rubber substrate

In a recently published paper, we report on a theoretical and experimental investigation of the normal contact of stretched neo-Hookean substrates with rigid spherical probes. Starting from a published formulation of surface Green’s function for incremental displacements on a pre-stretched, neo-Hookean, substrate (L.H. Lee \textitJ. Mech. Phys. Sol. \textbf56 (2008) 2957-2971), a model is derived for both adhesive and non-adhesive contacts. The shape of the elliptical contact area together with the contact load and the contact stiffness are predicted as a function of the in-plane stretch ratios $\lambda_x$ and $\lambda_y$ of the substrate. The validity of this model is assessed by contact experiments carried out using an uniaxally stretched silicone rubber. For stretch ratio below about 1.25, a good agreement is observed between theory and experiments. Above this threshold, some deviations from the theoretical predictions are induced as a result of the departure of the mechanical response of the silicone rubber from the neo-Hokeean description embedded in the model.

### CNRS - 80 ans plus tard, la rupture du nylon enfin observée - A. Marcellan

Malgré sa forte présence dans notre quotidien, le nylon n’avait jamais fait l’objet de tests de résistance sur une fibre isolée. Des chercheurs du (...)

> More...

### Water film squeezed between oil and solid: drainage towards stabilization by disjoining pressure

What happens when an oil drop is driven toward a solid surface into a water bath ? This phenomenon, common in the oil industry, is poorly (...)

> More...

## Practical information

Sciences et Ingénierie de la Matière Molle

Soft Matter Enginering and Science Laboratory - UMR 7615

10 rue Vauquelin
75231 PARIS CEDEX 05
FRANCE

• Chair : E. Barthel
• Vice Chairs : J.B. d’Espinose & G. Ducouret
• Administration : F. Decuq, M.-T. Mendy & M. Hirano-Courcot
• Communication : A. Hakopian & M. Ciccotti
• Information Technology : A. Hakopian
• Safety, Health and Environment Assistant : F. Martin

Getting here