TRENDS IN ENGINE TECHNOLOGY AND TRIBOLOGY

Fuel economy is one of the most important factors for both customer sa tisfaction and environmental protection. In order to improve fuel econ omy great efforts are being made to reduce mechanical losses by reduci ng friction loss and the weight of engine components, and tribology pl ays an important role in reducing friction. Some of the tribological p roblems that automotive engineers are now facing are described in this paper (for example, the problems of piston rings, pistons, bearings, engine oils, etc.). To promote effective environmental protection, aut omotive engineers, material engineers and tribologists need to coopera te with each other to solve the difficult aspects of engine tribology.