Existence and uniqueness of attractors in frictional systems with uncoupled tangential displacements and normal tractions

Typical examples of uncoupled systems include those where the contact surface is a plane of symmetry, or where the contacting bodies can be approximated locally as half spaces and Dundurs' mismatch parameter β=0. An important consequence of these results is that systems of this kind will exhibit damping characteristics that are independent of initial conditions. Also, the energy dissipated at each slipping node in the steady state is independent of initial conditions, so wear patterns and the incidence of fretting fatigue failure should also be so independent.