Although this book has formally one author only, its factual content results from collective work of many people. Hereby I would like to express my cordial thanks to my closest co-workers in the Rotor Dynamics and Slide Bearings Department, IFFM PAS, in particular to: Ms Aleksandra Markiewicz, Dr Anna Prońska, Dr Józef Rybczyński, Dr Sławomir Banaszek, Dr Marcin Łuczak and Mr Bartosz Czoska. I have been working with them for many years and without their assistance preparing this book to its present form would not be possible. I would also like to thank Prof. Marek Krawczuk for many years of co-operation and consultancy on finite element method problems.

I would like to thank the concern ALSTOM Power Ltd in Elbląg, in particular the engineers: B. Łuniewicz, R. Karpiuk, A. Malec and W. Radulski, and the power plant "Kozienice" SA, in particular Mr H. Sobera. Without technical assistance of these companies and positive attitude of these people the book would not have included so much information of practical nature on operation of real objects.

I owe words of gratitude to many people from other research centres in Poland for their substantial assistance and kindness. Naming them all is not possible here. Nevertheless, I would like to mention with real satisfaction the team headed by Prof. Wojciech Cholewa of the Silesian University of Technology, and the teams headed by Professors Tadeusz Uhl andWojciech Batko of the University of Science and Technology (AGH), Kraków, the two top research centres with which I have been co-operating for more than ten years.

I am deeply grateful to the editing team: Dr Edward Śliwicki, Ms Aleksandra Nowaczewska, Ms Helena Dudek and Professor E.S. Burka, the scientific editor of the publishing house for their help and exceptional involvement in editing this book.

I would also like to express words of gratitude to the reviewers of this book: Prof. Zbigniew Engel and Prof. Wojciech Cholewa, deeply appreciating their hard work in preparing the reviews.

Finally, I would like to address my thanks to my closest relatives, wife Aleksandra and daughter Beata, for their patience, understanding, and spiritual support during the entire period when this book was coming into being.