MICROTRIBOLOGY

Friction, wear and lubrication are topics of great economic importance. While friction may be desirable, for example is allowing us to walk, wear is always unwanted and can result in loss of function of technical or biomechanical systems. Damage caused by friction and wear arises from mechanical contact at solid surfaces. Hence, surfaces, their structure and their properties have to be studied on a micro- to atomic scale. Surface properties are much more complicated than bulk properties of materials and are strongly influenced inter alia by environmental and fabrication effects. New analytical methods such as scanning tunnelling or atomic force microscopy are useful tools for measuring tribological phenomena on a nanoscale. From an understanding of the main mechanisms of friction and wear in a given tribosystem, a solution can be deduced that optimises the tribological characteristics, and frequently the overall performance, of a system. Tribology represents an interdisciplinary field drawing on the knowledge of disciplines such as contact mechanics, materials science, chemistry, physics and biology.