Bridging the gap between tribology and corrosion: from wear maps to Pourbaix diagrams - Runner-up for the Guy Bengough Award, IoM3, 2007

Wastage as a result of the combined effects of wear and corrosion occurs in many environments, ranging from offshore to the healthcare industries. In such cases, the degradation is dependent on a wide range of parameters relating to the materials in contact and the nature of the corrosive environments. Defining conditions in which the wastage is minimised is critically important for engineers charged with monitoring such processes. The nature of the tribological contact plays a critical role in determining the effect of corrosion on the wastage rate. In some cases, as in sliding wear, frictional heating may arise at high velocities and applied loads, leading to oxide film formation, even at room temperatures. In other cases, as in solid particle erosion, frictional heating may play a significant role only at very high fluxes of particle impact. The action of a corrosive medium, either in gaseous or in liquid form, thus may have very different effects on such diverse tribological processes. The interactions between tribological processes and corrosion environments are examined in the light of recent work in the area. The role of tribo-corrosion maps will be discussed for coated and uncoated materials. In addition, areas that should be addressed in future work are discussed in terms of predictive modelling and experimental and analytical work for new and emerging materials.