TRibology as an ENabling Technology (TRENT)
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Leeds
Department Name: Mechanical Engineering
Abstract
The 9th March 2016 was the 50th anniversary of the landmark "Jost Report - Lubrication (Tribology) Education and Research" . The word Tribology was born and the dramatic financial savings that could be gained by optimum practice in this area were formally documented for the first time. 50 years on, the impact of tribology (friction and wear) on the economies of developed nations remains the same; 5-8% of GDP; but tribology as an engineering science has evolved. Tribology challenges in 2016 and beyond are driven by new challenges; the challenges in 1966 were solved and new challenges go with the emergence of new industrial areas. The basic science of tribology remains the same but there is a need to embrace multi-scale thinking, complex materials and interfaces and systems to operate in new and demanding environments. In this proposal Tribology as an enabling technology will be integrated into two industrial areas that are underpinning for the UK and internationally; advanced manufacturing and robotics and autonomous systems. The proposal is transformative as it brings tribology, as a positive and enabling discipline, into two emerging areas of nanomanufacturing and robotics. Tribology is normally associated with the wear and degradation and whilst important to the economy normally has negative connotations. This proposal embraces the positive aspects of triblogical science.
Planned Impact
The key aim of TRENT is to introduce tribology as an enabling technology in the engineering of intelligent systems for manufacturing and robotics. This will be facilitated through collaboration with teams from Norway (NTNU); Germany (Max Planck) and the US (Caltech). Our study has the potential to have significant impact across a number of application areas (for example, transport, healthcare, energy (nuclear, offshore etc.) and both focus areas are pivotal to delivery on the Industrial Strategy and to EPSRC themes as highlighted in the case for support. This will only achieved through a well-defined strategy for dissemination to, and collaboration with academia and industry as outlined below.
Organisations
- University of Leeds (Lead Research Organisation)
- Max Planck Society (Collaboration)
- California Institute of Technology (Collaboration)
- AC2T Research (Collaboration)
- Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) (Collaboration)
- Norwegian University of Science and Technology (Project Partner)
- California Institute of Technology (Project Partner)
- Max Planck Institutes (Project Partner)
Publications
Brittain R
(2023)
Diamond-like carbon graphene nanoplatelet nanocomposites for lubricated environments
in Carbon
Gong Y
(2023)
Experimental and numerical study on wear characteristics of steel surfaces involving the tribochemistry of a fully formulated oil. Part II: Computational modelling
in Tribology International
Gong Y
(2022)
Experimental and numerical study on wear characteristics of steel surfaces involving the tribochemistry of a fully formulated oil. Part I: Experiments
in Tribology International
Haneef M
(2024)
New nanoscale multilayer magnetron sputtered Ti-DLC/DLC coatings with improved mechanical properties
in Surface and Coatings Technology
Lee Z
(2020)
Morphology of a human finger pad during sliding against a grooved plate: A pilot study
in Biotribology
Vaitkunaite G
(2022)
Low friction tribofilm formation and distribution on an engine cylinder tested with MoDTC-containing low viscosity engine lubricants
in Tribology International
Vaitkunaite G
(2020)
MoS2 tribofilm distribution from low viscosity lubricants and its effect on friction
in Tribology International
Wang J
(2022)
Study on the effect of graphene/Fe3O4 film on friction and wear performance under water lubrication
in Diamond and Related Materials
| Description | The results in this output show numerically that the performance of rough surfaces can be tuned to optimise the tribofilm growth. In cases where thicker tribofilms are required, the manufacturing processes can be selected to give counterparts with lower negative skewness and larger autocorrelation length value. We have also deposited a range of nanocomposites and are now evaluating their electrical conductivity. In WP2 we have developed the methodology for assessing friction of capsules when in contact with human tissue and the effect of texture on grasping. |
| Exploitation Route | Correlating surface topography properties with tribofilm formation and growth will inform the experimental work within TRENT project to manufacture films from various chemistries. In addition, these results will potentially impact the research on tribochemistry and the formation of films with defined tribological performance. |
| Sectors | Energy Manufacturing including Industrial Biotechology Transport |
| Description | The AFM methodology developed in this award to study the growth of tribofilms has underpinned a new research grant partly funded by an industrial company to study lubricant performance on micropitting. The company provided lubricant additives from wind turbine gearbox applications; the successful completion of the project is expected to lead to economic impact. The research tools developed for testing finger friction and adhesion to tissues are currently being used to study tools used in surgical robotics. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2023 |
| Sector | Energy,Healthcare |
| Impact Types | Economic |
| Description | (GreenTRIBOS) - GreenTRIBOS |
| Amount | € 3,188,498 (EUR) |
| Funding ID | 860246 |
| Organisation | European Commission |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | European Union (EU) |
| Start | 01/2020 |
| End | 12/2023 |
| Description | (InnovaXN) - Doctoral programme for innovators with X-rays and neutrons |
| Amount | € 6,508,800 (EUR) |
| Funding ID | 847439 |
| Organisation | European Commission |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | European Union (EU) |
| Start | 09/2019 |
| End | 09/2024 |
| Description | Manufacturing the Future with Supercritical CO2 and Minimum Quantity Lubrication |
| Amount | £758,000 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | EP/W001950/1 |
| Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 03/2022 |
| End | 03/2025 |
| Description | Tribological and tribochemical behaviour of organic friction modifiers additives on the steel surface |
| Amount | £85,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Infineum International |
| Sector | Private |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 03/2021 |
| End | 03/2025 |
| Title | Development of a synthetic finger pad for the assessment of pad-surface tribological interactions |
| Description | We have developed equipment and protocols that include a synthetic finger pad and allow the assessment of pad-surface tribological interactions. The technique allows contact area to be measured during sliding interactions and the simultaneous measurement of friction coefficients. It can also be used in conjunction with optical coherence tomography for sub-surface measurements. |
| Type Of Material | Improvements to research infrastructure |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | At the time of writing this technique is in its early stages. |
| Title | Raman-based techniques for in-situ surface film thickness measurement |
| Description | With the support of TRENT grant, we have developed a Raman-based technique that has the potential to measure the thickness of the developed nano-structures in-situ. The technique will be utilised by the TRENT researchers to measure the thickness of the manufactured nanostructures. |
| Type Of Material | Improvements to research infrastructure |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | - Coating wear rate as a function of tribological contacts and lubricant chemistry; two outputs https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmst.2021.04.031 and https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.1c21824. |
| Title | Tribomanufacturing of nanoscale 3D structures |
| Description | We have developed the methodology for manufacturing 3D conductive nanofilms by harnessing the tribochemistry processes between chemical additives and nanoparticles in the solvent and the surface. The methodology involves Atomic Force Microscopy and testing of solvents/chemical additives/nanoparticles under high contact pressure and shear. |
| Type Of Material | Improvements to research infrastructure |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | Research is still in progress, no impact developed yet. |
| Title | Ultrasonic measurements for the assessment of finger pad-surface contact conditions |
| Description | With the support of the TRENT grant, we have developed equipment and protocols that use ultrasonic measurements for the assessment of finger pad-surface contact conditions. |
| Type Of Material | Improvements to research infrastructure |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | This work is still in its early stages. |
| Description | AC2T_inTRibology network |
| Organisation | AC2T Research |
| Country | Austria |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | Provided expertise on experimental evaluation of hydrogen release from lubricants and the effect of in-situ formed tribofilms. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Expertise with electrochemistry experiments. In addition, they provided industrial/application input to the experimental setup and project supervision. |
| Impact | Conference presentation at the TAE Tribology conference in January 2024. More outputs in form of research papers are in preparation. |
| Start Year | 2022 |
| Description | Partnership with Caltech |
| Organisation | California Institute of Technology |
| Country | United States |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Development of numerical models that determine the growth of nanostructures from tribological contacts. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Expertise and intellectual input in expanding the current numerical models with Data-Driven Constitutive equation generated by Caltech. |
| Impact | Contributed to the three publications published in the last 12 months. |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | Partnership with Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems |
| Organisation | Max Planck Society |
| Department | Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems |
| Country | Germany |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Development of textured surfaces with optimised grasping. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Experience in robotics, intellectual input on challenges related to grasping in biomedical devices/robots. |
| Impact | Transfer of expertise. |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | TU Delft and University of Amsterdam |
| Organisation | Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) |
| Country | Netherlands |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Provided access to experimental techniques for testing friction on tissues. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Demonstrated the impact of tribology in soft robotics applications. |
| Impact | No outputs yet, the papers are in preparation and will be submitted soon. |
| Start Year | 2023 |