ABSTRACT
Tribology is a critical science that has a key role in U.S. technology and competitiveness. Increased knowledge in tribology attained through research, both fundamental and applied, can lead to improved system reliability and durability, as well as decreased energy and material losses, throughout industrial technology. Transfer of tribology research results into general engineering practice is essential and can be assisted through the dissemination and use of critical tribological data. Tribology encompasses crossdisciplinary research and practice in materials, lubricants, and design (Zum Gahr, 1987). As a result, tribology research results are published in a number of specialized journals. This fact coupled with the diversity of tribology conditions of interest makes it difficult for researchers and engineers who work in different fields to locate pertinent information. As a result, advances in tribology have sometimes only slowly been incorporated into engineering practice.
