Study on the ice friction characteristics

Ice friction plays a vital role in different fields, including glaciology, polar runways, and winter sports, the mechanisms of which are complex and affected by many parameters, such as temperature, velocity, and load. It is commonly accepted that the frictional characteristics of ice can be attributed to a lubricating layer. Sphere-on-ice friction experiments were conducted to study the influence of temperature, pressure, and velocity on ice friction. The lubrication state of ice friction under different conditions was analyzed, and it was found that the contact angle and roughness were crucial factors. Characterizations of the worn surfaces done using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS) and three-dimensional white-light interference indicated that abrasive and oxidation wear were the main wear mechanisms arising from ice friction. The underlying mechanism was explored using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The results suggested that the effects of velocity, temperature, and load on the presence of hydrogen bonding alter the fluidity of the lubricating layer existing between the ice and sphere, which in turn affects the ice friction characteristics. In the lubricating layer, the concentrations of water molecules near the sliders and ice were higher than those in the inner water. Moreover, the adsorption energy verified that water molecules tended to be adsorbed on the ice and sliders. In addition, the calculation results indicated that some water molecules were re-oriented in the ice friction because spikes were observed in the radial distribution function (RDF) graphs.