Anomalous pinning behavior in an incommensurate two-chain model of friction

TL;DR

This paper investigates the complex pinning phenomena in an incommensurate two-chain friction model, revealing unique behaviors and phase transitions that differ from traditional models, with implications for understanding friction at the microscopic level.

Contribution

It introduces a novel incommensurate two-chain model demonstrating anomalous pinning behavior and phase transitions, expanding the understanding of frictional phenomena beyond existing models.

Findings

Pinning effect due to breaking of analyticity observed.

Pinning force shows complex behavior with phase transitions.

Pinning and static friction vanish under certain conditions.

Abstract

Pinning phenomena in an incommensurate two-chain model of friction are studied numerically. The pinning effect due to the breaking of analyticity exists in the present model. The pinning behavior is, however, quite different from that for the breaking of analyticity state of the Frenkel-Kontorova model. When the elasticity of chains or the strength of interchain interaction is changed, pinning force and maximum static frictional force show anomalously complicated behavior accompanied by a successive phase transition and they vanish completely under certain conditions.