Tribology of Lightweight Materials

'Lightweight materials' is a fascinating and appealing phrase among the researchers and industrialists. Though lightweight materials marked their presence during the Second World War, they are resurrected in the 21st century to mitigate the ever-increasing global warming and carbon footprint. Several recent research efforts enhanced the lightweight materials' strength/performance to meet the end requirements of multiple industrial sectors. The applications of lightweight materials are not limited to any specific field, and among their vast demand, tribological response of these materials is significant in material selection for sliding applications. To note that sliding applications have to conform to the science of relative motion that results in wear and tear, there arises the need for understanding the tribological aspect of lightweight materials. A number of research attempts were successfully made in the recent past to enhance tribological properties of lightweight materials through the addition of metallic/ceramic elements leading to the formation of high-performance alloys and composites. The present chapter highlights the recent work related to the enhancement of tribological response (wear and frictional behaviour) of most promising lightweight materials such as aluminium, magnesium and their composites. Besides, the factors that regulate the tribological performance of the lightweight materials and their remarkable influence on the wear mechanism are discussed in detail. The chapter also unfolds the progress, recent trends and future endeavours of lightweight materials in the face of tribology.