Foil air bearing load capacity tests were conducted to investigate if a solid lubricant coating applied to the surface of the bearing's top foil can function as a break-in coating. Two foil coating materials, a conventional soft polymer film (polyimide) and a hard ceramic (alumina), were independently evaluated against as-ground and worn (run-in) journals coated with NASA PS304, a high-temperature solid lubricant composite coating. The foil coatings were evaluated at journal rotational speeds of 30000 rpm and at 25 deg C. Tests were also performed on a foil bearing with a bare (uncoated) nickel-based superalloy top foil to establish a baseline for comparison. The test results indicate that the presence of a top foil solid lubricant coating is effective at increasing the load capacity performance of the foil bearing. Compared to the uncoated baseline, the addition of the soft polymer coating on the top foil increased the bearing load coefficient by 120 percent when operating against an as-ground journal surface and 85 percent against a run-in journal surface. The alumina coating increased the load coefficient by 40 percent against the as-ground journal but did not have any affect when the bearing was operated with the run-in journal. The results suggest that the addition of solid lubricant films provide added lubrication when the air film is marginal indicating that as the load capacity is approached foil air bearings transition from hydrodynamic to mixed and boundary lubrication.

These proceedings of the 15th International Conference on Wear of Materials focus on the friction and wear of materials in various applications under different environments from the nanometer scale to the meter scale. The conference provides a unique international forum for researchers and practitioners from different disciplines to exchange latest results. Coverage includes: . Wear assessment and monitoring . Wear modeling, mechanisms, mapping and prediction . Wear-corrosion testing and control . Surface engineering for wear and wear-corrosion control . Development of new wear test methods and wear test methodologies . Wear of materials for biomedical applications . Wear of non-equilibrium materials: from atomic dimensions to the micro-scale . Wear of hard and superhard materials . Wear of materials in the earthmoving, minerals processing and mining industries

February issue includes Appendix entitled Directory of United States Government periodicals and subscription publications; September issue includes List of depository libraries; June and December issues include semiannual index.

This proceedings contains the papers presented at The 8th International Symposium on Practical Design of Ships and Other Floating Structures held in China in September 2001 - the first PRADS of the 21st Century. The overall aim of PRADS symposia is to advance the design of ships and other floating structures as a professional discipline and science by exchanging knowledge and promoting discussion of relevant topics in the fields of naval architecture and marine and offshore engineering. In line with the aim, in welcoming the new era, this Symposium is intended to increase international co-operation and give a momentum for the new development of design and production technology of ships and other floating structures for efficiency, economy, safety, and environmental production. The main themes of this Symposium are Design Synthesis, Production, Hydrodynamics, Structures and Materials of Ships and Floating Systems. Proposals for over 270 papers from 26 countries and regions within the themes were received for PRADS 2001, and about 170 papers were accepted for presentation at the symposium. With the high quality of the proposed papers the Local Organising Committee had a difficult task to make a balanced selection and to control the total number of papers for fitting into the allocated time schedule approved by the Standing Committee of PRADS. Volume I covers design synthesis, production and part of hydrodynamics. Volume II contains the rest of hydrodynamics, and structures and materials.