This chapter discusses the effect of friction in the context of design. It explains how friction coefficients are determined and how they are used to make sizing and selection decisions. It covers practical issues associated with rolling friction, the use of lubricants, and the tribology of metal, ceramic, and polymer surfaces in contact. It also discusses the nature of rolling friction and provides helpful design guidelines.

This chapter covers the friction and wear behaviors of plastics and elastomers. It begins by describing the molecular differences between the two types of polymers and their typical uses. It then discusses the important attributes of engineering plastics and their suitability for applications involving friction, erosion, and adhesive and abrasive wear. It also discusses the tribology of elastomers and rubber along with their basic differences and the conditions under which they produce Schallamach waves. It includes information on polymer composites as well.

This chapter covers the tribological properties of different types of oil, greases, solid lubricants, and metalworking and traction fluids. It explains how lubricants are made, how they work, and how they are applied and tested. It also discusses the fundamentals of lubrication and friction control, the relationship between viscosity and breakaway friction, and the factors that affect load-carrying capacity and service life.

This appendix contains symbols for some common elements applicable to tribosystems.

This chapter provides information on the biennial International Wear of Materials Conference, which is the inspiration for this book. It reviews the fundamentals of tribology, tribosystems, and related terminology. The glossary at the end of this chapter is intended to familiarize readers with some of the fundamental tribology terms that will be repeated throughout this book.

This chapter reviews the types of friction that are of concern in tribological systems along with their associated causes and effects. It discusses some of the early discoveries that led to the development of friction laws and the understanding that friction is a system effect that can be analyzed based on energy dissipation. It describes the stick-slip behavior observed in wiper blades, the concept of asperities, and the significance of the shape, lay, roughness, and waviness of surfaces in sliding contact. It explains how friction forces are measured and how they are influenced by speed, load, and operating environment. It also covers rolling contact and fluid friction and the effect of lubrication.

This chapter covers common types of erosion, including droplet, slurry, cavitation, liquid impingement, gas flow, and solid particle erosion, and major types of wear, including abrasive, adhesive, lubricated, rolling, and impact wear. It also covers special cases such as galling, fretting, scuffing, and spalling and introduces the concepts of tribocorrosion and biotribology.

This chapter discusses the processes and procedures involved in tribotesting, the significance of test parameters and conditions, and practical considerations including test metrics and measurements and the interpretation of wear damage. It also describes the different types of erosion tests in use and common approaches for adhesive wear and abrasion testing.

This chapter covers the friction and wear behaviors of copper alloys. It describes the compositions and forms of copper available and their suitability for applications involving friction, different types of erosion, and adhesive and abrasive wear.

This chapter covers the friction and wear behaviors of cast irons. It describes the microstructure and metallurgy of gray, white, malleable, and ductile cast irons, their respective tensile properties, and their suitability for applications involving friction, various types of erosion, and adhesive and abrasive wear.

This chapter covers the friction and wear behaviors of carbon, alloy, and tool steels. It begins a review of commercially available shapes and forms. It then describes the metallurgy and microstructure of various designations and grades of each type of steel and explains how it affects their performance in adhesive and abrasive wear applications and in environments where they are subjected to solid particle, droplet, slurry, and cavitation erosion and fretting damage.

This chapter covers the tribological properties of stainless steel and other corrosion-resistant alloys. It describes the metallurgy and microstructure of the basic types of stainless steel and their suitability for friction and wear applications and in environments where they are subjected to liquid, droplet, and solid particle erosion. It also discusses the tribology of nickel- and cobalt-base alloys as well as titanium, zinc, tin, aluminum, magnesium, beryllium, graphite, and different types of wood.

This chapter concerns itself with the tribology of ceramics, cermets, and cemented carbides. It begins by describing the composition and friction and wear behaviors of aluminum oxide, silicon carbide, silicon nitride, and zirconia. It then compares and contrasts the microstructure, properties, and relative merits of cermets with those of cemented carbides.

This chapter covers coatings and treatments that are used to improve the friction and wear behaviors of materials. It describes modifications that work by hardening contacting surfaces, including heat treating, vacuum coating, thermal spray, and plating, and those that separate or lubricate surfaces, including solid film, chemical conversion, and vacuum coatings, surface oiling and texturing, and lubricating platings. It compares and contrasts methods based on thickness and depth and their relative effect on friction, erosion, and wear.

The chapter covers various aspects of biotribology in the context of dental care, orthopedic implants, haptics, eyewear, and stents and fixation devices. It also addresses the issue of biocompatibility and the effects of friction and contact pressure on skin.

This chapter provides guidelines and insights on the selection of materials, coatings, and treatments for friction and wear applications. It begins with a review of the system nature of tribological effects, the subtleties of friction, and the selection idiosyncrasies of the material systems and lubricants covered in prior chapters. It then presents a systematic approach for selecting tribomaterials, using an automotive fan motor as an example.

This chapter explains how to safely prepare beryllium alloy samples for metallographic analysis. It describes grinding, polishing, and etching procedures in detail. It also discusses the identification of major and minor constituents and the general appearance of beryllium microstructure.

Beryllium-related lung diseases were first reported in the 1930s, several years after the emergence of beryllium metals in manufactured products. Since then, there have been numerous studies around the world and continued refinement of recommendations and safety standards. This chapter provides a summary of the studies that have been conducted along with the findings. It discusses the effects of acute and chronic exposure, toxicity levels, potential sources and risks, treatment, and protective and preventive measures.