Ian Wark Research Institute,
University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes SA 5095 Australia.
Langmuir 17, 4322-4328 (2001)
Abstract
Analysed is the mutual deformation of adhesive particles
that interact with van der Waals forces
using a viscoelastic theory that accounts for the time-dependence
of the phenomenon.
The particle shape and interaction is calculated self-consistently
for finite-ranged forces.
Typical loading-unloading trajectories display
hysteresis that increases with driving velocity,
as does the particles' adhesion.
An analytic approximation that
accounts for the pre-contact deformation
is tested against the exact numerical benchmarks
and found to be accurate.
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