Trlbology: State Ofknowleuge And Future Trends.

Résumé: Tribology is the assembly of all topics connected with lubrication, friction and wear. The improvement in performance of mechanisms such as bearings, sliders, roller bearings, gears, ... , goes through the optimisation of many subjects such as kinematics, geometries, clearances, lubricants, materials and surface treatments. As friction and wear are the main causes of damage in mechanisms, tribology, plays and important rule in energy and material savings, in mechanisms life and reliability, and friction control.Progress in tribology has always been v stimulated by industrial needs, it is a technology driven science and recent developments in this field are due to economie pressure. ln 1977 , an investigation [1] in U.S.A. found that Il % of energy consumption could be saved through tribology. ln France the VAMAS group [2] estimates that friction and wear losses represent 2 %ofthe French G.N.P. Tribology is a carrefour of many disciplines which inc1ude solid and fluid n:~chanics, physics of solids and surfaces, njétaHurgy, chemistry, rheology, .. , Since the early days of tribology, considerable advances have been .accomplished ln hydrodynamics and in structural modelling. A great number of both solid and liquid new materials have been elaborated for or adapted to the needs of the disciplines: synthetic lubricants, composite materials, ceramics, plastics are just a few of them.

Publié dans la revue: Communication science et technologie