Sine–Gordon Modulation Solutions: Application to Macroscopic Nonlubricant Friction

Naum I. Gershenzon, Gust Bambakidis, Thomas E. Skinner

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

<p> <p id="x-x-sp000055"> The Frenkel&ndash;Kontorova (FK) model and its continuum approximation, the sine&ndash;Gordon (SG) equation, are widely used to model a variety of important nonlinear physical systems. Many practical applications require the wave-train solution, which includes many solitons. In such cases, an important and relevant extension of these models applies Whitham&rsquo;s averaging procedure to the SG equation. The resulting SG modulation equations describe the behavior of important measurable system parameters that are the average of the small-scale solutions given by the SG equation. <p id="x-x-sp000060"> A fundamental problem of modern physics that is the topic of this paper is the description of the transitional process from a static to a dynamic frictional regime. We have shown that the SG modulation equations are a suitable apparatus for describing this transition. The model provides relations between kinematic (rupture and slip velocities) and dynamic (shear and normal stresses) parameters of the transition process. A particular advantage of the model is its ability to describe frictional processes over a wide range of rupture and slip velocities covering seismic events ranging from regular earthquakes, with rupture velocities on the order of a few km/s, to slow slip events, with rupture velocities on the order of a few km/day. </p> </p></p>
Original languageAmerican English
JournalPhysica D
Volume333
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 1 2016

Disciplines

  • Physical Sciences and Mathematics
  • Physics

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