Tribology on the Small Scale: A Modern Textbook on Friction, Lubrication, and Wear

Friction, lubrication, adhesion, and wear are essential physical phenomena in everyday life and many key technologies. This book incorporates a bottom-up approach to these phenomena into a versatile textbook on tribology, focusing on how they occur on the small scale, often called nanotribology. It covers microscopic origins of common tribological concepts, macroscale concepts, surface energy, surface forces, lubrication in confined spaces, and the atomistic origins of friction and wear. Numerous examples are provided to show how a nanoscale understanding of tribological phenomena is essential to the proper engineering of modern technologies such as MEMS, disk drives, and nanoimprinting.

Format: Hardback
Length: 448 pages
Publication date: 30 August 2019
Publisher: Oxford University Press

Friction, lubrication, adhesion, and wear are ubiquitous physical phenomena that play crucial roles in everyday life and numerous essential technologies. This comprehensive textbook delves into these tribological phenomena from a bottom-up perspective, seamlessly integrating them into a versatile resource on tribology. By focusing on the microscopic realm, often referred to as nanotribology, the book unravels the origins of common tribological concepts such as roughness, elasticity, plasticity, friction coefficients, and wear coefficients. It explores how these concepts manifest at the atomic to micrometer scale, providing a deep understanding of the underlying mechanisms.

While certain macroscale concepts, like elasticity, scale down effectively to the micro- and atomic-scale, others, such as hydrodynamic lubrication, do not. Additionally, the book offers chapters on topics that are less commonly found in tribology literature, including surface energy, surface forces, lubrication in confined spaces, and the atomistic origins of friction and wear. These chapters delve into tribological concepts that become increasingly significant at the small scale, such as capillary condensation, disjoining pressure, contact electrification, molecular slippage at interfaces, atomic scale stick-slip, and atomic bond breaking.

Throughout the book, numerous examples are presented to illustrate the importance of a nanoscale understanding of tribological phenomena in the engineering of cutting-edge technologies like MEMS, disk drives, and nanoimprinting. Each chapter in the second edition has been revised and updated to reflect the latest advancements in nanoscale tribology. Furthermore, problem sets have been added at the end of each chapter to facilitate student engagement and comprehension.

In summary, this textbook offers a comprehensive and up-to-date exploration of friction, lubrication, adhesion, and wear, providing students and professionals with a deep understanding of these fundamental phenomena at the nanoscale. Its versatile approach and practical examples make it an invaluable resource for anyone interested in tribology and its applications in modern technologies.

Weight: 1018g
Dimension: 253 x 177 x 25 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780199609802
Edition number: 2 Revised edition