On the similarity of friction and wear processes at different scale levels

Advanced tribology has shown that the friction and wear are processes of motion of the point linear defects of atomic molecular structure of materials; the motion is self-organized at higher scale levels than other forms of motion (flow) of the material in the vicinity of the contact surface. The absence of well-defined knowledge of the forms of motion and, correspondingly, the absence of symptoms of their identification with the exhibition of friction and wear processes hinder mutual understanding between tribological experts. It is very often that discussions on words reflecting the taste and susceptibility of these workers do not reflect the essence of the questions to be discussed. The present paper discusses new classification systems of friction and wear processes and criteria of their identification which cover friction physical processes related to the mechanics of deformed bodies.