Originally posted by todras:
..tribology..



Never heard of this until just now. Thanks Todd.

"Tribology is defined as the science of interacting surfaces in relative motion. The word tribology comes from the Greek tribos, meaning rubbing. In any machine there are lots of component parts that operate by rubbing together. Some examples are bearings, gears, cams and tappets, tyres, brakes, and piston rings. All of these components have two surfaces which come into contact, support a load, and move with respect to each other. Sometimes it is desireable to have low friction, to save energy, or high friction, as in the case of brakes. Usually we don't want the components to wear so they are lubricated.

The study of friction, wear, lubrication and contact mechanics are all important parts of tribology. Related aspects are surface engineering (the modification of a component's surface to improve its function, for example by applying a surface coating), surface roughness, and rolling contact fatigue (where repeated contacts causes fatigue to occur)."


"Always do the cheap and easy ones first." 1996 V6 ATX 96K miles