Modelowanie procesów tribologicznych z wykorzystaniem teorii podobieństwa.

W artykule przedstawiono wyniki analizy możliwości zastosowania teorii podobieństwa w tribologii. Dokonano oceny przydatności analizy równaniowej oraz analizy wymiarowej do modelowania procesów tribologicznych. Stwierdzono znaczenie oraz potrzebę unifikacji metod tribologicznych badań eksperymentalnych.

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The results of discussion on a possibility of application of the similarity theory in tribology are presented. A usefulness of the equation and dimensional analyses for modelling tribological processes has been assessed. It have been stated that the equation analysis is hard to be employed in tribology. The reason is that even very simple, slow friction processes include many simultaneous - depending one on another - elementary occurrences and only few of them can be precisely described using mathematical formulae. The dimensional analysis is not widely employed for modelling tribological processes, either. Few attempts of a limited use of this method for describing slide bearings are of a qualitative character only. Considering the present state-of-the-art in the field of friction processes, it must be emphasised that it is impossible to describe quantitatively all the criteria of similarity of friction mechanisms in a model and a real object. So, one aims at obtaining such similarity between a model and a real object that friction mechanisms in the both objects are identical, which in turn would give identical wear mechanisms and resistance to relative movement. Friction conditions, i.e.: materials, geometry, kinematic parameters, loading, environment are then considered to be modelling criteria. Such an approach makes it necessary to unify tribological test methods and technical conditions of their realisation.