Tribology is the science of friction, lubrication and wear of moving
components. Results obtained from tribology are used to reduce energy
losses in friction pro- cesses, to reduce material losses due to wear,
and to increase the service life of components. Contact Mechanics plays
an important role in Tribology. Contact Mechanics studies the stress and
strain states of bodies in contact; it is contact that leads to friction
interaction and wear. This book investigates a variety of contact
problems: discrete contact of rough surfaces, the effect of imperfect
elasticity and mechanical inhomogeneity of contacting bodies, models of
friction and wear, changes in contact characteristics during the wear
process, etc. The results presented in this book were obtained during my
work at the Insti- tute for Problems in Mechanics of the Russian Academy
of Sciences. The first steps of this research were carried out under the
supervision of Professor L. A. Galin who taught me and showed me the
beauty of scientific research and solutions. Some of the problems
included in the book were investigated together with my col- leagues Dr.
M. N. Dobychin, Dr. O. G. Chekina, Dr. I. A. Soldatenkov, and Dr. E. V.
Tor- skaya from the Laboratory of Friction and Wear (IPM RAS) and Prof.
F. Sadeghi from Purdue University (West Lafayette, USA). I would like to
express my thanks to them. I am very grateful to Professor G. M. L.
