New insight into the mechanism of static friction: A theoretical prediction of the effect of loading history on static friction force based on the static friction model proposed by Lorenz and Persson

• Theoretical prediction of the effect of loading history on static friction was derived based on the Lorenz and Persson static friction model.
• The stop-restart motion acts to increase the static friction.
• The stop-inversion motion acts to decrease the static friction.

This study provides a new insight into the field of static friction. Based on the static friction model developed by Lorenz and Persson, in which it is assumed that a slip distance characterizes the level of frictional shear stress acting on the contact interface, we pointed out that tangential loading history is an important factor for determining the value of static friction. The stop-restart motion increased the level of static friction force, while the stop-inversion motion reduced the static friction.