Qualitative theory of rubber friction and wear

When rubber is slid on a hard, rough substrate, the surface asperities of the substrate exert oscillating forces on the rubber surface leading to energy "dissipation" via the internal friction of the rubber. We present a qualitative discussion of how the resulting friction force depends on the nature of the surface roughness and comment on the origin of the wear of sliding rubber surfaces. (C) 2000 American Institute of Physics. [S0021-9606(00)51404-4].