On a common tribological mechanism between interacting surfaces

Past and recent experience indicates that a wide spectrum of tribological interactions cannot be treated by the separate approaches that have always been assigned to hydrodynamic action on one hand and dry friction on the other hand. Experimental evidence from the literature and from the authors' recent experiments is cited for the support of a hypothesis that both morphological and hydrodynamic effects are at work in all interactions and that only their respective ratios differ from regime to regime. Assigning to thick fluid films morphological phenomena and to wear particles a quasi-hydrodynamic behavior, a unified mechanism is postulated for generating load capacity between all tribologically interacting surfaces. Presented at the 43rd Annual Meeting in Cleveland, Ohio May 9–12, 1988