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Book Review

Engineering Tribology that Engineering Tribology is a useful compendium for the

by J.A.Williams
Dr Williams has written a comprehensive book dealing
with the engineering aspects of Tribology. The book is essen-
tially in four main parts. The first looks briefly at lubricant
and bearing material properties. The second outlines the lore
associated with solid/solid contact, including the eharacter-
isation of solid surfaces, contact mechanics and the friction
and wear of solid surfaces. Then the classical regimes of
lubrication from hydrodynamics to boundary lubrication are
described. The last few chapters examine a few specific prac-
tieal aspects of engineering tribology, such as seals, metal
working and rolling element beatings. The book ends with a
series of "problems" which, no doubt have entertained stu-
dents of the Engineering Department of the University of
Cambridge as strongly as they will entrance the reader.
The field that this book encompasses is very broad and this
is both a strength and a weakness. Its strength is that it means
graduate engineer since it contains an introduction to many
of the tribologieal problems which he or she may encounter
in professional life. Its weakness is that each topic can, nec-
essarily, be tackled only cursorily and that the author cannot
bring to all areas the same originality and flair. This means
that whilst some parts of the book, notably the last few chap-
ters, are thorough and state of the'art, others are slightly old
fashioned and dull. This is probably an unjust criticism since
I suspect that the field of Tribology has grown so large that
the subject can no longer be comprehensively and lovingly
covered by one person in a single book, as in the halcyon
days of Cameron's Principles of Lubrication.
Overall Dr Williams book is a most useful addition to the
tribology literature and will serve as both a valuable intro-
duction and subsequent reference to many engineering
~ibologists.
H. Spikes
ImperialCollege.London

ElsevierScienceS,A,