Tribotests

Tribotests, short for tribological tests, are controlled experiments designed to measure friction, wear, and lubrication performance between interacting surfaces under defined conditions.

They use tribometers such as pin-on-disk, ball-on-disk, or four-ball rigs to simulate sliding contact. In a typical test, a sample (pin, disk, or ball) is pressed against a counterface under a specified normal load, sliding or rotating at a set speed, with controlled temperature, atmosphere, and lubrication.

Outputs include coefficient of friction, wear rate, worn surface morphology, and lubricant film stability. Data are used to compare materials, coatings, and lubricants, and to study wear mechanisms, friction regimes, and the effectiveness of additives.

Standards from organizations such as ASTM and ISO provide test methods and conditioning procedures to enable reproducibility and comparability. Tribotests are applied in product development, quality control, failure analysis, and academic research.

Limitations include that results depend on test configuration and may not directly predict field performance; scaling from lab to real service requires careful interpretation. Advancements include high-temperature, ultra-high-speed, micro- and nano-scale tests, and environmentally controlled tests.