TRIBOMETRY: How is friction research quantified? A review

Friction losses represent 23% of total annual energy consumption globally, which makes its study essential.For the measurement or prediction of the friction force and the wear rate, tribometry arises in charge of experimentally determining the different values under different configurations.From the tests the coefficient of friction and the diameter of the wear scar of the element are determined, to declare the contact conditions.The purpose of this study was to make a report discriminated test parameters, analysed materials and types of lubricants that are reported in the literature for the different types of tribometers that are described according to recognized classifications.It starts with a conceptual framework on friction, lubrication and wear, then defines tribometry and tribometer, and presents two existing tribometer classifications, that of ASLE and that of Stachowiak, and from there the report of studies carried out with disk tribometers begins.-disc, ringdisc, ball -three plates, block -ring, pin -plate, pin -disc, ring -cylinder, and four balls.It is verified that for each tribological pair, and study to be carried out, there is an ideal tribometer that must consider international standards, such as those issued by the different ASTM committees, to guarantee its quality.In most cases tribometers are designed by research institutions, showing that for each special case it is necessary to make modifications to existing designs.