Page 12 - Tribology in Machine Design

Preface

The main purpose of this book is to promote a better appreciation of the
increasingly important role played by tribology at the design stage in
engineering. It shows how algorithms developed from the basic principles
of tribology can be used in a range of practical applications.
The book is planned as a comprehensive reference and source book that
will not only be useful to practising designers, researchers and postgraduate
students, but will also find an essential place in libraries catering for
engineering students on degree courses in universities and polytechnics. It is
rather surprising that, in most mechanical engineering courses, tribology -
or at least the application of tribology to machine design - is not a
compulsory subject. This may be regarded as a major cause of the time-lag
between the publication of new findings in tribology and their application
in industry. A further reason for this time-lag is the fact that too many
tribologists fail to present their results and ideas in terms of principles and
concepts that are directly accessible and appealing to the design engineer.
It is hoped that the procedures and techniques of analysis explained in
this book will be found helpful in applying the principles of tribology to the
design of the machine elements commonly found in mechanical devices and
systems. It is designed to supplement the Engineering Science Data Unit
(ESDU) series in tribology (well known to practising engineers), emphasiz-
ing the basic principles, giving the background and explaining the rationale
of the practical procedures that are recommended. On a number of
occasions the reader is referred to the appropriate ESDU item number, for
data characterizing a material or a tribological system, for more detailed
guidance in solving a particular problem or for an alternative method of
solution. The text advocates and demonstrates the use of the computer as a
design tool where long, laborious solution procedures are needed.
The material is grouped according to applications: elements of contact
mechanics, tribology of lower kinematic pairs, tribology of higher kine-
matic pairs, rolling contact bearings and surface damage of machine
elements. The concept of tribodesign is introduced in Chapter 1. Chapter 2
is devoted to a brief discussion of the basic principles of tribology, including
some new concepts and models of lubricated wear and friction under
complex kinematic conditions. Elements of contact mechanics, presented in
Chapter 3, are confined to the most technically important topics. Tribology
of lower kinematic pairs, sliding element bearings and higher kinematic