2. Issues

As major consumers of energy, raw materials (materials – lubricants) and labor (maintenance, etc.), friction and wear have a considerable economic impact, for example:

• According to a study carried out by CETIM , the cost of wear and tear in France in the 1990s amounted to 25 billion euros, or nearly 3% of GDP (corrosion, another scourge of our industry, accounts for 4% of GDP). In terms of expenditure, maintenance costs alone account for almost 50% of the total cost;

• In the 1980s, American industry estimated...