3. Tribological behavior

3.1 Context

The first scientific studies on the tribological properties (adhesiveness, friction, wear, lubrication) of an elastomer, a material essential to the development of modern transport techniques, date back no further than some sixty years. At the end of the 19th century, rubber was used in the automotive industry, first in the form of solid tires and then in the manufacture of pneumatic tires. Rubber offered such advantages over wood and steel that engineers did not feel it necessary to analyze in detail the remarkable elasticity properties of this material, which had nevertheless attracted the attention of renowned physicists such as James Joule and Henri Bouasse. It should be noted, however, that fundamental research had little reason to take an interest in friction phenomena...