Friction and Wear from the Materials Science Vantage Point

Tribology, by its very nature, is a multidisciplinary subject which incorporates specialists in many different areas. However, the study of tribology has often polarized along set disciplinary lines, with each discipline rigidly adhering to its own terminology and research interests. Older explanations of friction and wear behavior have emphasized adhesive interactions of surface asperities. This approach has led to an emphasis on surface chemistry and on continuum mechanics, with much less attention given to the structures of the interacting materials themselves.