2. Friction measurements at high contact loads
2.1. Experimental method
Friction measurements were made using a home-made ball- on-disc tribometer shown schematically in Fig. 1. In this trib- ometer, an elastomeric ball is placed in a grip and is loaded by a normal force against a rotating flat disc. The tribometer has been designed such that testing at relatively high normal loads is possible. The normal load is controlled by attaching a mass (dead load) to an otherwise balanced arm supporting the ball grip.