ECONOMIC IMPACT OF TRIBOLOGY

Abstract

Friction and wear-caused mechanical failures and maintenance normally have their roots in phenomena based on tribology, the science and technology of interacting surfaces in relative motion. Developments in tribology since the publication of the Jost Report have utilized existing and new knowledge from physics, chemistry, mathematics, statistics, engineering, etc. As a result, advances in diverse fields, from metalworking to medicine or space technology, have been produced. The economic benefits that may accrue to industry can be substantial; in the case of the U.S. the savings obtainable through tribology could amount to as much as $16 billion per annum. Some of the means used in the United Kingdom in order to reap the benefits attainable by application of the principles of the multi-disciplinary subject of tribology, and some of the results obtained, are described.