Editorial

摘要

It is well known that by reducing the coefficient of friction in vehicles and various types of machinery, substantial amounts of energy can be saved. This directly reduces the production of heat waste through friction losses, where the primary tribological energy gains. These savings are well established, relatively large in most cases and comparatively easy to measure or estimate. However, the role of tribology in energy saving is more than this. By improving the performance of lubricants, lubricating systems, materials, surface topographies and coatings, we can also reach secondary tribological energy gains. These include keeping the efficiency of machinery from deteriorating, improved wear life and reduced downtime, new energy efficient designs of machine components and manufacturing processes. The papers included here will discuss about methods, analysis, design advances, and new materials concerning all kinds of sustainable energy and development with improved tribological properties from fundamental research to applied uses, with the resulting benefits of longer product/component life, less energy consumption, and reduction in product development time and cost.