Advances in tribology: The materials point of view

The application of advanced materials in various areas of contemporary technology can lead to improvements in the function, quality and performance of engineering components and systems. In this paper, an overview of the developments in high performance materials, both organic and inorganic based, is given. This includes thin hard coatings because of their increasing importance in tribological improvements. For these types of materials the requirements for tribe-engineering applications are analysed. Research results from BAM concerning ceramics and ceramic composites, polymers and polymer composites as well as hard coatings illustrate the friction and wear behaviour of these materials and their potential for tribe-engineering applications.