Polymer composites are more and more used as structural components which are very often subjected to friction and wear loadings under use. This overview describes the following cases:

1. Short fiber/thermoplastic matrix composites and their friction and wear properties as a function of both microstructural composition and external testing conditions. Special attention is focussed on the effects of different polymer matrices, fiber reinforcements, and additional internal lubricants on the coefficient of friction and the specific wear rate of these materials when sliding against hard steel counterparts. Further effects on these tribological properties due to changes in testing temperature, sliding speed and contact pressure are outlined;
2. Rresults of sliding wear experiments with continuous glass, carbon or aramid fiber/polymer matrix composites against steel counterparts. They were used to develop a hypothetical model composite with optimum wear resistance. This was achieved for hybrids with carbon fibers parallel and aramid fibers normal to the sliding direction of the counterpart; and
3. The friction and wear performance of thin layer composites strengthened with steel backeners to sustain very high pressure loadings during sliding wear.