Current and future trends in tribological research

Abstract

The paper provides a commentary on the theme of: “Current and Future Trends in Tribological Research: Fundamentals and Applications” which is a special feature issue commemorating the 10th anniversary of the journal; Lubricants. A historical discourse is provided regarding various aspects of tribology as a multi-disciplinary subject that interacts in an inter-disciplinary manner with many other subjects; multi-body dynamics, thermofluids and heat transfer, contact mechanics, surface science, chemistry, rheology, data science, and biology, to name but a few. Such interactions lead to many important topics including propulsion with different sources of energy, mitigating emissions, palliation of friction, enhancing durability and sustainability, optimisation through detailed analysis, and the use of artificial intelligence. Additionally, issues concerning kinetics at various physical scales (from macro to micro onto meso and nanoscale) affecting the kinematics of contacts are discussed. The broad range of applications considered include vehicular powertrains, rotor bearings, electrical machines, mammalian endo-articular joints, nano-biological attachment/detachment and locomotion. Current state-of-the-art tribological research is highlighted within a multi-physics, multi-scale framework, an approach not hitherto reported in the open literature.