Friction on Surfaces and Distance Travelled

Mechanically Speaking

Grove School of Engineering at the City College of New York

April 27, 2025

Budget: $25.55

Abstract
Friction is a resistive force that affects the motion of objects, and it plays a crucial role in enabling and impeding movement. This project aims to investigate how far equally weighted objects with different surface textures will slide when launched across surfaces of varying textures. Using a rubber band launcher, we will consistently propel objects of the same mass across different surfaces and measure the distance each one travels. We expect that rougher surfaces will result in shorter sliding distances due to higher kinetic friction, while smoother surfaces will allow objects to slide farther. The outcome of this project will help us understand how surface texture influences friction and object motion and may offer insight into real-world applications involving material selection and motion efficiency.

Introduction

Friction is a fundamental force that opposes motion between two surfaces in contact, influencing how objects move and stop in everyday life and engineering applications. It plays a critical role in the performance of transportation systems, machinery, and even simple tasks like walking or sliding objects across a table. However, understanding how different surface textures interact to affect sliding friction remains a common challenge in physics. The problem lies in determining which combinations of surface textures result in higher or lower friction, as this directly affects how far an object can travel after being propelled. The purpose of this experiment is to investigate how surface texture affects the sliding distance of equally weighted objects launched using a rubber band. By testing various materials—such as wood, felt, aluminum foil, and sandpaper—as surfaces and using textured objects like plastic blocks and erasers. This study aims to measure and compare how far each object slides under consistent force. The significance of this research is that it can enhance our understanding of material behavior, improve motion efficiency, and inform design decisions in areas like product development, surface coating, and mechanical systems.

Literature Review

Friction is a force that acts upon every object at any time, even at the atomic level. From the tires of cars,  metal gears turning in machinery, or molecules clashing at the atomic level, frictional forces can’t be ignored when they actively go against a system’s movement.

The most common thought regarding friction is how it happens in moving vehicles like cars. Road safety is heavily impacted by the roads and how they interact with the pavement. It is common knowledge that driving on wet roads after rain is more dangerous compared to a sunny day because of the decreased friction between the pavement and tires. The article, “Impact of Pavement Friction Decay on Speed Limits and Autonomous Vehicles: A Theoretical and Experimental Study,” written by Filippo Giammaria Pratico, dives more into pavement friction. Pratico has a Ph.D. in civil-transportation engineering from the universities of Pisa and Palermo and is currently a professor at the University of Reggio Calabria. Past studies show that friction decreases due to pavement aging, construction variability, and environmental conditions, affecting the relationship between friction and crash risk. Pratico developed a model that links friction decay directly to changes in speed limits. He concluded that this relationship between the friction loss and speed limit reductions follows the power law, increasing limit decreases loss (45).  Pratico’s article highlights the importance of friction on the road and how environmental factors like weather and decay can affect friction and the speed of objects.

Friction can build up within a system, affecting the overall mechanisms of an object. Friction can also help a system from breaking, preventing or allowing necessary movements. The article “A Model for Breakaway Distance and Maximum Static Friction to Study the Static Frictional Behavior of the Secondary Seal in Non-Contacting Mechanical Seal,” written by Kun Li, Xiaohong Jia, and Fei Guo, discusses how friction can stop movements to protect seals from breaking. Kun Li is part of the department of Core Systems in Nexteer Automotive. Xiaohong Jia and Fei Guo are part of the State Key Laboratory of Tribology at Tsinghua University in Beijing. Friction in secondary seals is important for making mechanical systems work better and last longer. The secondary seal prevents the first seal from breaking, more friction helps the secondary seal stick to the first seal. They created a model to predict how seals behave, focusing on the distance needed to start movement and the highest static friction. They concluded that factors like material properties, surface roughness, and lubrication influence the frictional performance (3).

Friction has many phenomena that affect how it behaves. One example of this is the friction memory effect, or memory-dependent friction. Friction can be altered based on how it behaved before. This is discussed more in depth by N. Fulleringer and J.-F. Bloch, associated with the University of Grenoble Alpes, in their article, “Model of Friction to take into account the sliding distance dependence and its memory effect.” They studied how friction changed with sliding distance, focusing on sliding paper on paper. They found that friction decreases in a logarithmic pattern, dropping by up to 50% over 30 cm of sliding (188). They also found that friction has a “memory,” meaning it behaves the same in repeated sliding tests.

While the idea of friction on an atomic level doesn’t apply on a scale people use daily, it plays an important role in nanotechnology and material sciences. Yasuhisa Ando and Yuto Shinna, both professors at the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, published an article, “Investigating the Effect of Interatomic Distance on Friction Force Through MEMS-AFM Based Experiment,” talking about this. Because the environment can affect how friction acts on a system, its chemical properties can be examined to determine the friction coefficient between surfaces. One of these chemical properties includes their interatomic distance (IAD), or the distance between two nuclei. By measuring the friction force on a strained surface using friction force microscopy (FFM), they can determine whether or not IAD can affect the coefficient of friction. FFM detects the friction force between surfaces under a microscope. Ando and Yuto concluded that surface strain directly affects friction through altering IAD; increasing IAD decreases friction force by almost 9% (6).

Studies like the ones we read here inform us on how friction can improve road safety, protect seals in systems, and affect atoms in new fields like nanotechnology. There is a field dedicated to how friction affects movement called tribology. There might be new effects friction might have on surfaces that have not been explored yet. Maybe in other states of matter, or how it might affect objects like superconductors or plasma. Our proposal aims to explore how general surfaces can enhance our understanding of material behavior and improve motion efficiency for more day-to-day uses. This proposal can be used in applications like vacuums, shoes, non-stick pans, clothing, and even sports.

Project Narrative 

We will be conducting this research in a closed room where no external factors can affect the result. An environment with large wind, like the outdoors or a busy dining hall, can add to the forces acting on the object. We will also be using a desk that is at least the length of our ruler as a control. Placing the ruler on the desk, we will use a rubber band as our initial force to launch the object. We will tape the ruler down in case of any movement throughout the experiment. The objects in the experiment will include a dice, a plastic water bottle cap, a coin, a paper box, a wooden box, and an eraser to simulate plastic, metal, paper, wood, and rubber, respectively. As our control, we would have the rubber band on our finger and the object in front of the rubber band. We will have coins and a scale to equalize the mass of each object. By placing the object on the scale, we aim for each object to have 50 grams, placing or removing coins until each object reaches. We will then tape the coins down and double-check each object before experimenting. Pulling the rubber band back one inch, it will shoot the object, and we will record the distance it travels. Each launch will be repeated at least ten times. This control tests the friction of the object launched and the material of the desk, wood. After the control, we would lay out different surfaces for the objects to travel on. Each surface must be bigger than the ruler. We plan to have sandpaper, felt, Aluminum foil, and fabric. Each surface is also going to be taped down to prevent movement. Repeating the same procedure as the control, we will write down each distance traveled by the object and surfaces, comparing and contrasting the effect each surface has on the distance traveled. The data will be recorded in the chart below. Each surface will have its own chart with the object tested on it.

Surface Tested

With the data collected, we will place all the points on the graph, mimicking the graph below. Each dot will represent the objects tested and the distance traveled visually.

Personnel

Our group consists of four students from The City College of New York, each assigned to specific parts of the proposal and project tasks. Shuvo Chandra Barmon was assigned to write the Abstract and Introduction part of this essay. Shirley Lin was assigned to write the Literature Review and Project Narrative. Sajid Salam was assigned to write the Personnel and Budget. Lastly, Karol Jablonski was assigned to create the Time Frame and record the references used. 

During the Experiment, Sajid was responsible for gathering the needed materials and setting up the surfaces. Shuvo prepared the wooden block and sandpaper surfaces and also assisted with proper testing conditions. Shirley operated the stopwatch and helped measure the distance the block traveled. Karol documented the data collected and organized it into tables for later analysis. All group members collaborated to analyze the results. 

Budget 

The materials that have been listed are required to conduct our friction experiment. Small objects made of different materials (plastic, metal, paper, wood, rubber) were used to measure friction across different surfaces, including sandpaper, felt foil, and fabric. The spring scale and stopwatch were essential for measuring force and time, while the ruler and tape ensured consistency across trials. The total estimated cost was $20.55, and it is necessary to complete the experiment. 

 

Item	Quantity	Total Cost (USD)	Purpose
Dice	1	$1.00	Object to test friction (plastic material)
Water Bottle Cap	1	$1.00	Object to test friction (plastic material)
Coins	20 (5 of each coin)	$2.05	Object to test friction (metal material) and use as weights
Paper Box	1	$1.00	Object to test friction (paper material)
Wooden Box	1	$5.00	Object to test friction (wood material)
Eraser	1	$1.50	Object to test friction (rubber material)
Sandpaper (sheet)	1	$1.00	Rough surface for testing
Felt fabric (sheet)	1	$2.00	Soft surface for testing
Aluminum foil (roll)	1	$2.00	Slippery surface for testing
Cloth fabric (piece)	1	$3.00	Fabric surface for testing
Rubber Band	1	$1.00	Launches objects with consistent force
Ruler or Tape Measure	1	$3.00	Measures distance traveled
Tape	1 roll	$2.00	Marks start and end points
Total:		$25.55

Time Frame 

Bibliography

Filippo Giammaria Praticò, et al. “Impact of Pavement Friction Decay on Speed Limits and Autonomous Vehicles: A Theoretical and Experimental Study.” Journal of Road Engineering, Elsevier, 26 Feb. 2025, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2097049825000022. 

Kun Li, et al. “A Model for Breakaway Distance and Maximum Static Friction to Study the Static Frictional Behavior of the Secondary Seal in Non-Contacting Mechanical Seals.” Tribology International, Elsevier, 9 Mar. 2019, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301679X19301331. 

15002984. Fulleringer, et al. “Model of Friction to Take into Account the Sliding Distance Dependence and Its Memory Effect.” Tribology International, Elsevier, 17 July 2015, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301679X15002984.

Yasuhisa Ando, et al. “Investigating the Effect of Interatomic Distance on Friction Force through MEMS-AFM Based Experiment.” Applied Surface Science, North-Holland, 7 July 2023, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0169433223016707.