9713942 Bryant Initial studies have shown that micro-vibrations properly applied to bodies in sliding contact can reduce their wear by 50% or more. In this follow-up study the basic mechanisms involved will be studied and techniques will be developed to optimize the effect using passively generated vibrations for several target technologies, including automotive and aircraft brakes as well as electrical brushes. It is expected that near the end of the study subtle design changes can eventually be developed for automotive brake systems which will enable passive generation of vibrations that promote the vibration-induced wear reduction without having any deleterious side effects and that this could result in a very significant drop in brake wear. ***
