Surface science perspective of tribologicalfailure

Two common tribo-failure mechanisms are discussed in this paper.The first mechanism deals with the role of asperity flashtemperature in scuffing (severe adhesive wear) failure. Thesecond mechanism is concerned with the generation andaccumulation of wear particles in the contact zone in initiatingtribo-failure. These failure mechanisms can be suppressed bycontrolling the surface geometry, incorporating the properlubricant package and surface modification.