Effect of surface grooves on kinetic friction of a rubber slider

•The number of surface grooves is an important key for designing friction force of rubber slider.•In dry conditions, friction force decreases as the groove number increased.•In wet conditions the effect of the groove number of friction force depends on the surface roughness of the slider.

This study discusses the effect on kinetic friction of the number of surface grooves present on the contact surface of a rubber slider. From some experiments, it was found that the number of grooves is important in determining the kinetic friction. For a dry interface, kinetic friction decreases as the number of grooves increases. However, for a wet interface, the effect of the grooves on kinetic friction depends on the surface roughness of the rubber slider. For a rubber slider with a relatively rough surface, kinetic friction increases as the number of grooves increases. In contrast, for a smooth rubber slider and a wet interface, kinetic friction decreases with increasing number of grooves.