EMM4303

Tribology

Department of Mechanical & Manufacturing Engineering

Faculty of Engineering
 What is Tribology?

 Tribology comes from the Greek word, tribos,

meaning rubbing or to rub.
 And from the suffix, ology means the study of.
 Therefore, Tribology is the study of rubbing, or…
the study of things that rub.

 This includes the fields of:

 Friction
 Wear
 Lubrication
 What is Tribology?
(Contd.)

Tribology is the science and technology of interacting

surfaces in relative motion:
that is, friction, wear and lubrication.
 What is Tribology?
(Contd.)

Tribology is a new word…

Coined by Dr. H. Peter Jost in England in 1966
“The Jost Report”, provided to the British Parliament – Ministry for Education and
Science, indicated… “Potential savings of over £515 million per year ($800 million)
for industry by better application of tribological principles and practices.”

But …
Tribology is not a new field !
 History of Tribology
The first recorded Tribologist – 2400 B.C.

Transporting the statue of Ti – from a tomb at Saqqara, Egypt

Figure taken from “History of Tribology”, by Duncan Dowson.

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 History of Tribology
(Contd.)
The first recorded Tribologist – 2400 B.C.

The first recorded tribologist – pouring lubricant (water?)

in front of the sledge in the transport of the statue of Ti.
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 History of Tribology
(Contd.)
A more famous Tribologist – 500 years ago
Sled Friction Test Geometry 4-Ball Test Geometry

ASTM D1894 – Static and Kinetic

Leonardo Da Vinci Coefficients of Friction of Plastic
Film and Sheeting

Two observations:
1. The areas in contact have no effect on friction.
2. If the load of an object is doubled, its friction
ASTM D5183 - COF
will also be doubled. ASTM D2266, D2596 – EP
Ball Bearing ASTM D4172, D2783 - Wear 7
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 Tribology
Brown’s First Law of Applied Tribology
(Power Generation)
If it's running, it's wearing.
If it's not running, it's probably worn!

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 Tribology is Everywhere
Tribology is All Around Us
In applications from simple to complex and scales from small to large

Not only in machines, vehicles, bearings, Your shoes or car tires have worn out?
lubricants and train wheels. Due to tribological processes.

When you slip on the ice,

light a match or slide in the You don’t like the texture
water park, it’s friction that of the fat-free yogurt?
you are experiencing…or Hey, that’s tribology!
missing.

It’s everywhere. Just look around.

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 Individual Components

Gears
Brake and clutch pads

Bearings
 Assemblies / Products
Rock climbing shoes

Pocket watch

Engines Curling stones

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 Manufacturing Processes
Rolling

Turning
Stamping

Grinding / polishing
Drilling
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 Construction / Exploration
Oil drilling rig
Excavator

Mine slurry pumps

Chunnel digging drill

Space shuttle
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 Natural Phenomena
Wear Friction
Water erosion Wind erosion

On/off stiction: Super-hydrophobicity:

gecko feet lotus leaf

Plate tectonics

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 Tribology in Industry
In parallel to these different scales, there are many areas of
Engineering and Industry which have a need to use / understand the
Tribology

A scheme representing the multiphysical nature of tribological interactions: two different solids with rough surfaces and relevant material
microstructures are brought into mechanical contact and exposed to various loads: mechanical, thermal, electric, and environmental
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 Tribology in Industry
(Contd.)
Tribology is also in virtually every area of engineering and industry
 Aerospace  Fabric/Clothing
 Agriculture  Flooring
 Automotive  Food Processing
 Engine: Piston ring / cylinder, bearings,  Highway/Transportation Depts.
valve seats, injectors
 Brakes / clutch
 Lubricant Manufacturers
 Tooling / machining / sheet metal forming  Medical Diagnostics
 Coatings Providers  Medical Implants
 Low friction  Military
 Wear resistant  Pharmaceutical
 Thin films or hardfacings
 Shoe Manufacturers
 Cosmetics/Personal Care
 Sports Equipment Companies
 Dental Implants
 Universities/Educators
 Energy  Mechanical engineering
 Nuclear
 Materials science engineering
 Wind
 Physics
 Fossil
 Chemistry
 Solar 1/29/2013 16
 Tribology is Multi-disciplinary
When two surfaces rub together, the energy introduced into the
system by loading and sliding is dissipated in various ways:

as heat, generation of wear debris, modification of surface

topography and near-surface regions, initiation of chemical
reactions, etc.

Therefore, investigating phenomena taking place in the

contact zone is a complex task and requires multidisciplinary
approach involving not only tribology itself, but also other
sciences:

physics, chemistry, contact mechanics, fluid mechanics,

crystallography, metallurgy, biology, medicine, etc.
 Commonality in Tribology
What do all these diverse fields and applications have in common?

What do we need to think about as engineers and scientists,

when we design products or friction/wear experiments?

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 Commonality in Tribology
(Contd.)

Every application has Surfaces in Contact, and in relative motion

(e.g. sliding, rolling, impacting)

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 Surfaces in Contact

So let’s begin by looking closely at a surface…

Next lecture!
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