Propagation Length of Self-healing Slip Pulses at the Onset of Sliding: A Toy Model

Macroscopic sliding between two solids is triggered by the propagation of a micro-slip front along the frictional interface. In certain conditions, sliding is preceded by the propagation of aborted fronts, spanning only part of the contact interface. The selection of the characteristic size spanned by those so-called precursors remains poorly understood. Here, we introduce a 1D toy model of precursors between a slider and a track in which the fronts are quasi-static self-healing slip pulses. When the slider’s thickness is large compared to the elastic correlation length and when the interfacial stiffness is small compared with the bulk stiffness, we provide an analytical solution for the length of the first precursor, \(\varLambda\), and the shear stress field associated with it. These quantities are given as a function of the bulk material parameters, the frictional properties of the interface and the macroscopic loading conditions. Analytical results are in quantitative agreement with the numerical solution of the model. In contrast with previous models, our model predicts that \(\varLambda\) does not depend on the frictional breaking threshold of the interface. Our results should be relevant to the various systems in which self-healing slip pulses have been observed.