Modern tribological research relies on the application of a host of experimental and theoretical techniques to probe the tribological interface and to understand the mechanisms underlying friction and wear. Many of the details and subtleties of these approaches are poorly described in the literature and communicated by word of mouth from one generation of graduate students to the next. This situation has led to significant differences in measurement and calibration methods between laboratories.

Tribology Methods is a new section of Tribology Letters that aims to address this issue by featuring articles dealing specifically with experimental and theoretical techniques in tribology. Typical topics for this section might include:

  • Novel tribological test methods,

  • Techniques for in situ measurements,

  • Standardized methods for calibration,

  • Standard sample-preparation methods,

  • Methods for modeling fundamental tribological phenomena (e.g. MD potentials, DFT methods).

While our “traditional” Tribology Letters contributions (“Original Papers”) will continue to provide the latest results in tribological research, we believe that the Tribology Methods section will fill a vital niche that is currently lacking in the tribology literature. While we anticipate that a portion of Tribology Methods papers will include completely new experimental and theoretical approaches, we also expect to include papers addressing tribological test methods whose use is widespread but are not covered by national or international standards.

This issue of Tribology Letters includes our first Tribology Methods section, covering the topics of low-friction measurements, AFM friction determination, and adhesion of cantilever beams.

We look forward to receiving your contributions to Tribology Methods.

The Editors-in-Chief, Tribology Letters