Paths of Dissipation

The GRC series on Tribology started already in 1960 under the title "Petroleum: Friction, Lubrication and Wear" chaired by William A. Horne and Cheves Walling and has run every two years since then. Even though the first conferences had a strong focus on lubrication, materials aspects were included from the beginning as well. Since those days all aspects of tribology have emerged from and into many different scientific disciplines because of the interdisciplinary nature of this area. Phenomena are analyzed over several orders of magnitude from atomic interactions to entire machines as well as from non-contact situations to extreme pressures and temperatures.

During the 1980s computer simulations began to support experimentalists by revealing dynamic effects in contacts. They allowed for a first glimpse on the different paths of dissipation of energy induced by tribological loading, which could not be analyzed in-situ. Today simulations have become an indispensable tool to better understand the nature of tribological contacts at all scales. In addition they revealed that the dissipation mechanisms differ distinctly among the orders of magnitude. This results in a still existing gap between simulations and experiments as well as between atomistic perspectives and applied tribology.

Thus the 2012 Gordon Research Conference on Tribology - following the tradition of the series - provides state-of-the-art presentations of leading scientists in physics, chemistry, materials, and engineering sciences, which will result in lively and stimulating discussions about the coincidences and discrepancies found between experiments and simulations and across the different orders of magnitude in time and length. The extraordinary character of this conference allows for a continuous exchange of knowledge and theories between established representatives from science and industry as well as students who just became involved.