 View the latest tribology news [April 2007] A review of the seminar held at IMechE on 7 December 2006.
Dr Peter Jost – Historical and Future Challenges in Tribology
Peter gave a quick run down of the Tribology timeline from the inception of “Tribology” the word and the 1966 Jost report, the creation of the IMechE Tribology Committee as the home for Tribology both the UK and internationally, the initiation of the Gold Medal right through to the present day. Here he warned that the UK was being left behind Asia and the US and needed to introduce an organisation to improve education and promotion in Tribology and transfer of tribological knowledge and be internationally leading.
Mr David Way, DTI – UK Technology Strategy for Wealth Creation
David started by highlighting that business expenditure on R&D is currently too low (UK is near the bottom and underspends by £4bn), but that the Government aims to bring this up 1.7% of GDP by 2014.
He then outlined the role of the Technology Strategy Board (TSB) in achieving this aim. The TSB is a business led advisory board encouraging engagement between industry and government to improve R&D.
The key areas they are focussing on are knowledge transfer, innovation in procurement and skills and knowledge. They are attempting to help leading sectors remain prosperous, stimulate sectors with potential to become the best and ensure emerging technologies become the sectors of tomorrow.
There are a number of mechanisms being used to reach these aims: - Innovation Platforms: Two pilots on network security and intelligent transport systems are currently running.
- Key Technology Areas: Including advanced materials, bioscience, design and manufacturing and sustainable production which are related to tribology.
- Technology Programme: 600 R&D projects funded worth a total of £900 million pounds 50% from government and 50% from industry.
- Knowledge Transfer Networks (KTNs): Bringing together business, academia, users and suppliers.
In the near future the TSB will be moving further away from the government and will operate in a similar manner to a research council, but focussing on investment in industry.
Opportunities for Tribology:
Metrology Programme; collaborative R&D; KTNs
Mr Peter Christmas, Lloyds Register – Marine Perspective
Peter discussed the major causes of losses in the marine environment. Losses are categorised into total and partial losses. There are many more partial then total. Total losses mainly result from weather, groundings etc. Partial losses, however, which generally occur later in a ship's life, result mainly from machinery failures. Quite a number of these are related to tribological issues such as maintaining a sufficient supply of lubricant.
Peter’s view was that to reduce these losses greater use of emerging technology was required as well as improved knowledge transfer.
Opportunities for Tribology:
To help use existing knowledge to solve problems and to develop new technology to help machinery performance.
Dr Mark Hylton, EPSRC – Creativity and Challenges for Tribology: The Policy Perspective
Mark talked about the EPSRC’s focus on creative high risk projects. Apparently young researchers are not carrying out high risk research. EPSRC are trying to help encourage them to do so by promoting creativity and leadership, which in Mark’s opinion will ensure the future of tribological research in the UK.
The two main opportunities for tribology lie in the engineering programme and exploration funding. The former currently funds 12 projects worth £2.9M (with tribology* somewhere in the text), this is relatively low. The funding rate however is quite good. The latter is an opportunity for young researchers to receive £1M of funding to support their work. This is EPSRC’s way of taking a risk on the leaders of tomorrow.
Opportunities for Tribology:
Engineering programme and exploration funding (a call is out currently)
Ian Taylor, Shell Global Solutions – Lubricants – Past, Present and Future
Ian outlined the development of lubricants showing the dramatic change in their development, performance, testing procedures and modelling techniques as shown below:
Past Present
| Formulation |
Mineral oils, monogrades used |
More synthetic lubricants, good anti-oxidant performance, increased use of FM additives and low levels of sulphur |
| Viscosity |
High (15W40, 20W/50) |
Lower |
| Cost to development |
Low |
High |
| Drain intervals |
Very short |
Longer |
| Tribological Testing |
Developed as one-offs, manual operation |
Many standard tests on computer-controlled platforms |
| Numerical Techniques |
Limits on computational power, progress on modelling slow |
Unlimited (virtually) computational power |
| Analytical Tools |
Not well developed |
Vast range available |
For the future Ian highlighted the following issues relating to lubricants:
- Increased emphasis on energy efficiency and CO2 emissions
- Wider range of material systems
- Wider range of fuels
- New additives – e.g. nanoparticles
- Formulating with lower levels of SA, phosphorus and sulphur
- Hybrid vehicles – stop/start transients
- Higher stresses on lubricants, longer drain intervals, thermal cycling
- Need for integrated chemical and physical models of lubricants
Opportunities for Tribology:
There are opportunities in all the future issues highlighted.
Phil Shipway, The University of Nottingham - Modelling of Wear: A Harmony of Physics and Engineering
Phil’s talk focussed on the state-of-the-art in wear modelling, a topic he rightly stated is very complex, involving materials that are developing as they wear with properties we are not sure how to measure or predict.
Phil discussed three types of approach:
- Ab initio modelling (from first principles) which would include the effect of the material microstructure, i.e., slip (crystal systems, texture in grains etc.), dislocations, grain size and damage modelling.
- Component scale modelling using simple approaches like Archard (several examples were cited)
- General property modelling where basic mechanical properties are linked to wear behaviour (yield strength, UTS, work hardening, ductility, fracture toughness etc.). There are some isolated examples where this type of approach is being used.
Phil’s opinion was that for the next 50 years of tribology the third approach was a realistic aim.
Opportunities for tribology:
This is where tribology can really make a difference, by making models and wear design tools available to industry. This is our role rather than an opportunity. We should all be doing this.
Dennis Teer, Teer Coatings – Coatings for the Future
Rather than tell us where coatings are going in the future, Dennis gave some examples of what coatings are being used for. It is clear that coatings have huge potential to reduce wear and friction in a large range of applications and can provide solutions where lubricants cannot be used.
Mark Spearing, University of Southampton – MEMS: challenges and Opportunities
Mark’s talk on MEMS focussed a lot on how tribology cannot help with MEMS, because generally they are designed with an aim to minimise relative motion. Mark did highlight some areas where tribology can help, however, particularly with the manufacturing and processing of MEMS.
Opportunities for tribology:
- New bearings, materials and coatings
- Chemical-mechanical polishing – controlled wear; interactions of mechanical and chemical processes
- Wafer bonding – contact mechanics and multi-scale deformations; surface modification
- Nanoimprint lithography, hot embossing – surface modification for friction reduction; stamp wear – life, tolerances
Duncan Dowson, University of Leeds – Biotribology
Duncan gave a fascinating talk on the history of biotribology from hip joints to gecko’s feet. He identified three major strands of development likely in the next 50 years:
- Tribological studies of systems in the body alongside those on synovial joints. These include the skin, hair, teeth, eyes, blood flow, heart valves and artificial hearts. These will be influential in the engineering, health care and cosmetic industries.
- Developing a greater understanding of tribology in the animal world for application in engineering scenarios. There are many examples of systems offering low friction, wear resisting surfaces, high friction, adhesion and detachment.
- Understanding of tribology in biological systems will fuel the emergence of “biomimetics”, i.e. using natural world tribological systems to develop novel engineering solutions.
Opportunities for Tribology
A large number of potential new research areas.
Links with life sciences and interdisciplinary projects.
Simon Edwards, Corus – From Slab to Sedan – A Steel Perspective on Tribology
Simon’s talk focussed on how tribology can help CORUS. Tribology impacts on much of CORUS’s work in steel processing. In the actual rolling, surface quality and roll wear are critical. Other issues such as vibration and lubricant supply are also influential. A good understanding of the tribological issues can help ensure that machinery is available when needed and high quality product is rolled.
Tribology is also important in the final processing of the steel produced in easing forming processes, using the best surface texturing, reducing tool wear etc.
Another big area of concern is lubrication. CORUS use 20,000,000 litres per year. The lifecycles costs are high and disposal costs are rising. Losses due to leakage need to be reduced. Major developments are required in lubricant supply and in producing more environmentally friendly lubricants.
Opportunities for Tribology
Simon identified a number of areas where tribology can help:
- Rolling process research and technology
- Application research and technology
- Environmentally friendly and energy saving lubricants
- Sealed for\life components
- Development of novel lubrication systems
Co-operation is required between academia, industry and lubricant suppliers to solve many of these problems.
Hugh Spikes, Imperial College – Nanotribology in the Real World: Measurement and Modelling across the Rubbing Interface
Hugh’s talk focussed on defining just what “nano” means (clusters of atoms/molecules) and what “nano-tribology” is (tribological behaviour of assemblies of atoms and molecules having at least one nano-scale dimension).
At present four areas relating to nano-tribology are apparent: probes; structure; processes and simulation of tribological systems.
Probes such as Atomic Force Microscopes and Surface Form Apparatus are used for characterising surfaces and friction at the nano-scale.
Structures including monolayers on surfaces, fullerenes (nano-particles) and nano-structured coatings are being developed.
Processes involve looking at the origins of friction and damage accumulation, cracks etc.
Opportunities for Tribology
The UK is not up to speed in this area and needs to catch up.
There are many funding opportunities for “nano” technology at present.
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