Friction behavior between an artificial skin block and a glass plate under unlubricated and partly/completely water-lubricated conditions

It is usually difficult to separate plastic bag through a dry or dripping wet finger due to low friction. Although a moist finger, enabled by exposing the skin to small amount of water exhibits higher friction, the reason has not yet been scientifically justified. We showed that the real contact area and friction coefficient between an artificial skin block with fingerprint pattern and a glass plate reaches a maximum when about 5% of contact area is covered by water. In such a high friction condition, the real contacts are surrounded by a meniscus. Thus, the real contact formation is promoted by negative pressure at the meniscus.

Automated summary

Moisture covering about 5% of the real contact area can enhance the friction between artificial skin block with fingerprint pattern and a glass plate, leading to the formation of negative pressure at the meniscus which promotes the formation of real contacts.