Studies of sliding friction in compressed copper

We present the results of simulations for sliding copper interfaces for pressures in the kilobar range. The velocity dependence and density dependence are discussed and the evolution of plastic damage is described. Density dependent embedded atom model (EAM) potentials are used to describe the atomic interactions. Simulations were typically for N=65,000 atoms and were carried out using molecular dynamics on massively parallel CM200 and CM5 platforms. A transition to a low friction state at high velocities is discussed.