ABSTRACT
The objectives of this chapter are to provide the reader with awareness of the opportunities and limitations of molecular dynamics (MD) simulation for nanotribology research, background that enables interpretation of MD studies reported in the literature, and an understanding of the important contributions made to nanotribology through MD-based research. The chapter will be divided into three sections: an introduction to what molecular dynamics simulation is and what tribological phenomena can be studied using it, and two sections that focus on areas MD research has already contributed to signi‘cantly, namely atomic-scale friction and thin ‘lm lubrication. This is not meant to be a comprehensive review of the literature, and the reference list is by no means complete. The intention is to provide an overview of the contributions of MD to this ‘eld, and references are cited either as examples of a simulation method or result, or to direct the reader to a previous study that may provide more detail on a given topic.
