At the conclusion of the Conference on Tribology in the area of Wear Life Pre diction of Mechanical Components, which was held at the General Motors Research Laboratories and sponsored by the Industrial Research Institute, a very high pri ority recommendation was modeling of tribological systems. Since the appearance of the Conference Proceedings in 1985, the writers discussed the matter of modeling with Dr. Edward A. Saibel, Chief of the Solid Mechanics Branch, Engineering Sciences Division, U.S. Army Research Office. This discussion led to a proposal for the Workshop which resulted in this...