Introduction to Tribology

1R19. Introduction to Tribology. - B Bhushan (Nanotribology Lab for Info Storage and MEMS/NEMS (NLIM), Ohio State Univ, Columbus OH 43210). Wiley, New York. 2002. 732 pp. ISBN 0-471-15893-3. 120. 00. Reviewed by Pak Lim Ko (Integrated Manuf Tech Inst, W Lab, NRC, 3250 E Mall, Vancouver BC, V6T 1W5, Canada). In the Preface, the author states that this book is intended as a broad-based textbook for post-graduate students. Judging by its contents and the comprehensiveness in discussion, this book has succeeded amply in fulfilling the author’s claim. It can be used as a stand-alone reference book for both researchers and practicing engineers. Despite its title, which seems to suggest that this book is an introductory text, the scope of the topics that are covered is, indeed, very broad. With the exception of one significant omission, topics that are directly or indirectly concerned with the engineering and science of tribology, from friction, wear, and lubrication to surface characterization, contacting surfaces, test methods and applications, are dealt with comprehensively. The contemporary topic of micro/nanotribology is also given a prominent position in this book. The author also describes the book as a condensed version of his other comprehensive book titled Principles and Applications of Tribology. With a few minor differences, such as the omission of an important topic on coatings and surface treatments, the present version is in every aspect just as excellent a reference volume as the earlier version and a worthy alternative. The book is well organized with a very descriptive table of contents. Each chapter contains an introduction, a closure, and a comprehensive list of references and suggested reading. The author has provided many examples to illustrate the application of some of the equations and principles in the text. The book has 12 chapters spanning 720 pages. The graphs and figures are clearly presented, and the reproduction of photo-micrographs is reasonably good. The book starts with a chapter that briefly describes the history and industrial significance of tribology. This first chapter also reviews and describes the significance of the emerging field of micro/nanotribology. The second and third chapters provide a detailed discussion on topics involving solid surfaces and their contacts, such as, physico-chemical characteristics of surface layers, the analyses and measurement techniques for surface roughness, and elastic and plastic contacts. Several illustrative examples are presented to help the reader better comprehend the analyses involved. Chapter 4 describes the adhesion mechanisms of solid-solid and liquid-mediated contacts. The following chapter on friction, like the one on adhesion, is also divided into solid-solid and liquid-mediated contacts. There is also a short discussion on static friction and stick-slip. Unfortunately, it would require a more in-depth discussion for frictional vibration and the associated friction characteristics to be properly explained. The section on friction of materials describes the friction characteristics of a broad range of materials and their combinations. The interface temperature rise due to frictional heating is discussed in Chapter 6. The analysis, which follows the fundamental heat conduction solutions and takes into consideration the partition of heat, is divided into frictional contacts that are subjected to high stress conditions or low stress conditions. Although there are two numerical examples to help illustrate the application of the derived equations, some readers may find it difficult to comprehend the concept of heat partition and the development of the temperature rise equations between two bodies in relative motion for the two stress conditions. This would be particularly true for practicing engineers who may not be familiar with this topic. Chapter 7 provides a general description of several types of commonly known wear mechanisms and types of wear particles that are the consequence of different wear mechanisms and wear processes. The section on wear of materials helps to further illustrate the wear processes and wear mechanisms involved. Chapters 8 and 9 are devoted to fluid film and boundary lubrication. The various regimes of lubrication, the theories of hydrostatic, hydrodynamic and elastohydrodynamic lubrication, as well as bearing designs are reviewed in Chapter 8, whereas in Chapter 9, the mechanisms of boundary lubrication, various liquid lubricants and additives, and greases are presented. The surface force apparatus (SFA), the scanning tunneling microscopes (STM), and the atomic force and friction force microscopes (AFM and FFM) are relatively modern devices developed in the last 40 years. They are widely used for studies of interfacial phenomena on a small scale, such as those in magnetic storage systems and micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS). Chapter 10 provides a comprehensive description of these devices and their applications in tribology. Chapter 11 discusses some friction and wear test methods. The last chapter describes a number of tribological components, such as, bearings, seals and gears; and microcomponents, such as MEMS, as well as tools used in material processing operations. In summary, Introduction to Tribology is a broad-based reference book which covers nearly every aspect of tribology from the fundamentals of friction, wear, lubrication, and surface contacts to the emerging field of micro/nanotribology. It is, as the author intended, an excellent text for post-graduate and senior-level undergraduate courses, and a useful reference for researchers and practicing engineers who are involved in tribology related studies or projects.