Sliding friction of wiper blade: Measurement, FE modeling and mixed friction simulation

In this paper, the dry and wet friction of a commercial wiper blade is investigated. The effect of load and velocity on sliding friction is studied at specimen-level experimentally, the material response is characterized by DMA tests, while the contact behavior is analyzed by plain strain FE models. Holding the normal force constant the numerical analysis makes it possible to follow the variation of interference between the wiper blade and glass surface, the change of friction force and contact pressure distribution, as well as the variation of nominal contact area during the transition from wet to dry friction. As a last step, the steady-state elastohydrodynamic lubrication problem of wiper blade/glass contact is solved by using a recent mixed friction model. (C) 2013 Published by Elsevier Ltd.