Importance of Tribology in Engineering Design

From economical point of view wear is of the most important aspects of viability of an industrial enterprise. Mobile components in structures undergo wear and need to be replaced. This is particularly important for polymer based materials (PBMs). New methods have to be developed for wear mitigation in PBMs. Several such methods are under investigation showing positive results: blending, application of magnetic fields, application of radiation, and creation of micro- and nano-composites such as metal filler in polymer matrix. Working in this area we have provided a definition of material brittleness since no quantitative definition has existed before. At the conference these and other developments in tribology of PBMs will be reported from the point of view of informed design of materials structures.