Abstract
An analysis has been carried out of some twelve studies in the literature describing the effect of the metallurgical compatibility of metal pairs on their friction, wear, or adhesion. In each case the rank correlation coefficient was computed between the compatibility and the tribological parameter. The correlation is zero for adhesion tests, and is positive and increases in the order static friction, kinetic friction, and wear. It is hypothesized that the correlation coefficient is highest for wear studies either because they average the influence of the largest number of individual junctions or else because the contribution of surface energy is greatest during the severe conditions of a sliding test.