arXiv subjects

Luciano Afferrante

Publications and source records attributed to Luciano Afferrante.

11 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

A technical report on the surface-energy and morphology-based screening for electrode/electrolyte interface compatibility in SOFC/ReSOC materials

The performance and durability of solid oxide fuel cells and reversible solid oxide cells are strongly affected by the electrode-electrolyte interface, where charge transfer, ionic transport, adhesion, morphology and thermomechanical stability interact. Early-stage compatibility screening is usually based on electrochemical or compositional criteria, whereas surface-related descriptors are rarely included in a unified framework. This work proposes a surface-based methodology to assess the expected compatibility of candidate electrode-electrolyte pairings. Contact-angle measurements with water and glycerol are used to determine total, dispersive and polar surface free energy components through the Owens-Wendt-Rabel-Kaelble method. Confocal topography is used to extract ISO 25178 roughness parameters, including average roughness, peak-to-valley height, valley depth, skewness, kurtosis and surface slope. A compatibility matrix is constructed by combining energetic affinity and morphological suitability, with emphasis on the electrolyte surface, since the electrode is deposited directly onto the electrolyte substrate. The results indicate that the most promising interfaces are not necessarily those with the highest surface free energy, but those combining high adhesion work, low interfacial energy and a substrate morphology suitable for continuous electrode deposition. The proposed approach provides a rational pre-electrochemical screening tool to prioritize electrode-electrolyte combinations for subsequent validation by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, area specific resistance, electrical contact resistance, microstructural analysis and durability testing. Although it does not replace electrochemical characterization, it offers a physically grounded way to connect surface chemistry, topography and interface formation in solid oxide cell materials.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2026

Theory of fracture initiation and propagation in viscoelastic media

Crack initiation and propagation are fundamental problems in materials science, often leading to catastrophic failure. While fracture in elastic solids occurs instantaneously above a critical load, viscoelastic materials may sustain high loads for a finite time before cracks start to propagate. This phenomenon, known as delayed fracture, has been widely observed experimentally but is still only partially understood theoretically. In this study, we present a rigorous framework based on the Lagrange--d'Alembert principle of virtual work (PVW) to predict both the viscoelastic delay time and the subsequent crack evolution under arbitrary loading histories. We derive how the delay time depends on the applied remote load and validate the theory through quantitative comparison with experiments, using directly measured delay times together with DMA-based viscoelastic characterization of the material. Very good agreement is obtained over a broad range of loading and delay times. Our results also show that crack propagation starts at finite speed and that load-dependent steady-state conditions are soon established. Finite element analyses further support the proposed framework and clarify the role of finite-ranged adhesion forces at fixed adhesion energy, showing that shorter interaction ranges yield results in quantitative agreement with theory. We also present, for the first time, a rigorous J-integral formulation valid for linear viscoelastic solids under arbitrary, time-varying loading histories. The result restores path independence and yields a generalized Griffith criterion that naturally predicts delayed fracture initiation in non-conservative materials. Remarkably, fracture initiation can be described without specifying the detailed stress distribution within the process zone, as long as it remains small relative to the crack length.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2025

In-Process Monitoring of Gear Power Honing Using Vibration Signal Analysis and Machine Learning

In modern gear manufacturing, stringent Noise, Vibration, and Harshness (NVH) requirements demand high-precision finishing operations such as power honing. Conventional quality control strategies rely on post-process inspections and Statistical Process Control (SPC), which fail to capture transient machining anomalies and cannot ensure real-time defect detection. This study proposes a novel, data-driven framework for in-process monitoring of gear power honing using vibration signal analysis and machine learning. Our proposed methodology involves continuous data acquisition via accelerometers, followed by time-frequency signal analysis. We investigate and compare the efficacy of three subspace learning methods for features extraction: (1) Principal Component Analysis (PCA) for dimensionality reduction; (2) a two-stage framework combining PCA with Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) for enhanced class separation; and (3) Uncorrelated Multilinear Discriminant Analysis with Regularization (R-UMLDA), adapted for tensor data, which enforces feature decorrelation and includes regularization for small sample sizes. These extracted features are then fed into a Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifier to predict four distinct gear quality categories, established through rigorous geometrical inspections and test bench results of assembled gearboxes. The models are trained and validated on an experimental dataset collected in an industrial context during gear power-honing operations, with gears classified into four different quality categories. The proposed framework achieves high classification accuracy (up to 100%) in an industrial setting. The approach offers interpretable spectral features that correlate with process dynamics, enabling practical integration into real-time monitoring and predictive maintenance systems.

eess.SP↗

arXiv2024

Role of viscoelasticity in the adhesion of mushroom-shaped pillars

Mushroom-shaped pillars have been extensively studied for their superior adhesive properties, often drawing inspiration from natural attachment systems observed in insects. Typically, pillars are modeled with linear elastic materials in the literature; in reality, the soft materials used for their fabrication exhibit a rate-dependent constitutive behavior. This study investigates the role of viscoelasticity in the adhesion between a mushroom-shaped pillar and a rigid flat countersurface. Interactions at the interface are assumed to be governed by van der Waals forces, and the material is modeled using a standard linear solid model. Normal push and release contact cycles are simulated at different approaching and retracting speeds. Results reveal that, in the presence of an interfacial defect, a monotonically increasing trend in the pull-off force with pulling speed is observed, and the corresponding change in the contact pressure distribution suggests a transition from short-range to long-range adhesion. This phenomenon corroborates recent experimental and theoretical investigations. Moreover, the pull-off force remains invariant to the loading history, due to our assumption of a flat-flat contact interface. Conversely, in absence of defects, detachment occurs after reaching the theoretical contact strength, and the corresponding pull-off force is found to be rate independent.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2024

Adhesive contact mechanics of bio-inspired pillars: exploring hysteresis and detachment modes

Engineering technologies frequently draw inspiration from nature, as exemplified in bio-inspired adhesive surfaces. These surfaces present textures adorned by pillars, mimicking the topography found on the pads of certain animals renowned for their exceptional adhesive capabilities. The adhesive response is strongly influenced by the morphology of these pillars. In typical existing models, perfect bonding conditions are assumed between the pillar and the countersurface, and solely the detachment process of the pillar from the countersurface is investigated. The proposed model, based on the assumption that interactions at the interface are governed by van der Waals forces modeled by the Lennard-Jones potential law, enables the examination of the entire approach and retraction cycle, tracking the movement of the pillar towards and away from the countersurface. Our findings reveal that adhesive contact mechanics is primarily influenced by the geometry of the pillar and the potential presence of interfacial 'defects', which in turn affect the distribution of contact pressure. Furthermore, we show that the detachment process may simultaneously involve various modes of separation, such as crack propagation from outer edge, crack propagation from inner defects, and uniform decohesion. This suggests that existing theoretical models alone cannot fully elucidate the complexity of detachment phenomena. Additionally, we anticipate the occurrence of hysteretic losses during the approach-retraction cycle, attributed to pull-in and pull-off contact jumps. Adhesive hysteresis is a phenomenon consistently observed in experiments but frequently overlooked in existing models.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2022

On the long and short-range adhesive interactions in viscoelastic contacts

Recently, tribologists have shown increasing interest in rate-dependent phenomena occurring in viscoelastic fractures. However, in some cases, conflicting results are obtained despite the use of similar theoretical models. For this reason, we try to shed light on the effects that long and short-range adhesion has on the pull-off force in the contact of viscoelastic media by exploiting a recently developed numerical model. We find that, in the limit of long-range adhesion, the unloading velocity has little effect on the pull-off force, which is close to the value predicted by Bradley for rigid bodies. In such case, the detachment process is characterized by a uniform bond-breaking of the contact area, and viscous dissipation involves the bulk material. For medium(short)-range adhesion, the pull-off force is instead a monotonic increasing function of the pulling velocity and, at high speeds, reaches a plateau that is a function of the adiabatic surface energy. In this case, the detachment process is similar to the opening of a circular crack, and viscous dissipation is localized at the contact edge.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2022

Size effects in adhesive contacts of viscoelastic media

Is the maximum force required to detach a rigid sphere from a viscoelastic substrate dependent on the initial value of the contact radius? Experimental and theoretical investigations reported in the literature have given opposite responses. Here, we try to answer the above question by exploiting a fully deterministic model in which adhesive interactions are described by Lennard-Jones potential and the viscoelastic behaviour with the standard linear solid model. When the approach and retraction phases are performed under quasi-static conditions, the substrate behaves as an elastic medium and, as expected, the pull-off force Fpo (i.e., the maximum tensile force) is found to be independent of the maximum contact radius amax reached at the end of loading. Size-dependent effects are instead observed (i.e., pull-off force Fpo changes with amax) when transient effects occur as the larger the contact area, the greater the size of the bulk volume involved in the dissipation. Results are also discussed in the light of viscoelastic crack Persson's theory, which is modified to capture size effects related to amax.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2021

On the effective surface energy in viscoelastic Hertzian contacts

Viscoelasticity and rate-dependent adhesion of soft matter lead to difficulties in modeling the 'relatively simple' problem of a rigid sphere in contact with a viscoelastic half-space. For this reason, approximations in describing surface interactions and viscous dissipation processes are usually adopted in the literature. Here, we develop a fully deterministic model in which adhesive interactions are described by Lennard-Jones potential and the material behaviour with the standard linear solid model. Normal loading-unloading cycles are carried out under different driving conditions. When loading is performed in quasi-static conditions and, hence, unloading starts from a completely relaxed state of the material, the effective surface energy is found to monotonically increase with the contact line velocity up to an asymptotic value reached at high unloading rates. Such result agrees with existing theories on viscoelastic crack propagation. If loading and unloading are performed at the same non-zero driving velocity and, hence, unloading starts from an unrelaxed state of the material, the trend of the effective surface energy Δγeff with the contact line velocity is described by a bell-shaped function in a double-logarithmic plot. The peak of Δγeff is found at a contact line velocity smaller than that makes maximum the tangent loss of the viscoelastic modulus. Furthermore, we show Gent\&Schultz assumption partly works in this case as viscous dissipation is no longer localized along the contact perimeter but it also occurs in the bulk material.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2020

Rate-dependent adhesion of viscoelastic contacts. Part I: contact area and contact line velocity within model multi-asperity contacts with rubber

In this work, we investigate dissipative effects involved during the detachment of a smooth spherical glass probe from a viscoelastic silicone substrate patterned with micro-asperities. As a baseline, the pull-off of a single asperity, millimeter-sized contact between a glass lens and a smooth poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) rubber is first investigated as a function of the imposed detachment velocity. From a measurement of the contact radius a(t) and normal load during unloading, the dependence of the strain energy relase rate G on the velocity of the contact line vc = da/dt is determined under the assumption that viscoelastic dissipation is localized at the edge of the contact. These data are incorporated into Muller's model (V.M. Muller J Adh Sci Tech (1999) 13 999-1016) in order to predict the time-dependence of the contact size. Similar pull-off experiments are carried out with the same PDMS substrate patterned with spherical micro-asperities with a prescribed height distribution. From in situ optical measurements of the micro-contacts, scaling laws are identified for the contact radius a and the contact line velocity vc. On the basis of the observed similarity between macro and microscale contacts, a numerical solution is developed to predict the reduction of the contact radius during unloading.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2020

Rate-dependent adhesion of viscoelastic contacts. Part II: numerical model and hysteresis dissipation

In this paper, we propose a numerical model to describe the adhesive normal contact between a "rigid" spherical indenter and a viscoelastic rough substrate. The model accounts for dissipative process under the assumption that viscoelastic losses are localized at the (micro)-contact lines. Numerical predictions are then compared with experimental measurements, which show a strong adhesion hysteresis mostly due to viscous energy dissipation occurring during pull-off. This hysteresis is satisfactorily described by the contact model which allows to distinguish the energy loss due to material dissipation from the adhesion hysteresis due to elastic instability. Our analysis shows that the pull-off force required to detach the surfaces is strongly influenced by the detachment rate and the rms roughness amplitude, but it is almost unaffected by the maximum load from which unloading starts. Moreover, the increase in the boundary line separating contact and non-contact regions, observed when moving from smooth to rough contacts, negligibly affects the viscous dissipation. Such increase is much less significant than the reduction in contact area, which therefore is the main parameter governing the strong decrease in the effective surface energy.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2019

Modeling the adhesive contact of rough soft media with an advanced asperity model

Adhesive interactions strongly characterize the contact mechanics of soft bodies as they lead to large elastic deformations and contact instabilities. In this paper, we extend the Interacting and Coalescing Hertzian Asperities (ICHA) model to the case of adhesive contact. Adhesion is modeled according to an improved version of the Johnson, Kendall & Roberts (JKR) theory, in which jump-in contact instabilities are conveniently considered as well as the lateral interaction of the asperities and the coalescence of merging contact spots. Results obtained on complex fractal geometries with several length scales are accurate as demonstrated by the comparison with fully numerical simulations and experimental investigations taken from the literature. Also, the model quite well captures the distributions of the contact stresses, gaps, and contact spots.

cond-mat.soft↗