Friction: The Tribology Enigma

Lead Research Organisation: University of Leeds
Department Name: Mechanical Engineering

Abstract

Friction plays a central role in life; in transport, in manufacturing, in process engineering, in medical devices and in everyday human activities. Friction has commanded the attention of Amontons, Coulomb and Da Vinci and their simplistic, empirical laws have been the cornerstone of friction theory. At the conceptual and theoretical levels the vast modern day friction literature has revealed the enormous complexity of even the simplest processes and the limitations of the early friction laws. Friction is intimately linked to both adhesion, contact geometry and wear and all require an appreciation of the highly non-equilibrium and non-linear processes occurring over multiple length scales. The challenge presented is that friction in realistic engineering contacts cannot be predicted. Understanding the physical and chemical processes at contacting interfaces is the only route to cracking the tribological enigma. The research gap addressed in this Programme Grant is linked to the development of accurate experimental and numerical simulations of friction. We appreciate that the search for a unified model for friction prediction is futile because friction is system dependent. However, the goal to predict friction is achievable. We have identified 4 key areas where there are current challenges in understanding the origins of friction because of different complexities as outlined below:
- Reactive surfaces; in many systems the frictional contact brings about chemical reactions that can only be described by non-equilibrium thermodynamics. We need accurate kinetic rate data for reactions which can only be provided by advanced in-situ chemical analysis
- Extreme interfaces; these can be described as any interfaces that are inducing high strain rate material deformation and combined with electrochemical or chemical reactions. Simulation and sensing are key to improving the understanding.
- Non-linear materials; in engineering and in biological systems we see the evolution of "soft" materials for tribological applications. Predicting friction in these systems relies on understanding the rheology/tribology interactions.
- Particles and 2nd phase materials; for materials processing or for understanding the transport of wear particles in a contact we need to understand particle-particle friction in complex contact conditions where fracture/deformation are occurring.

Planned Impact

The Universities of Leeds and Sheffield have strong, sustained track records of engagement with users of their research and of commercialisation via licensing and spin-outs. The user groups are across sectors. As an example of the level of engagement by industry, in our shared Integrated Tribology CDT we have 18 industry sponsors all funding at £80K for the 4 year PhD.
We see the key objectives of our Pathways to Impact (PtI) being the following:
PtI1 - Efficient and timely dissemination of the low TRL research findings to ensure that exploitation of this by other funders (at higher TRL level) occurs; critical for the sustainability of the research area; our dissemination to industry strategy through the 6-monthly Network meetings will enable this to happen.
PtI2 - Exploiting the links between this major tribology programme and other related programmes; reaching out to other UK and overseas centres will be via our Innovation Fund (to create new links with UK Centres) and our International Network of collaborators.
PtI3 - Providing uniquely trained early career researchers who can go on to make substantial contributions in academia or industry; we have a strong programme for the PDRAs employed on the programme through Creativity@Home and employing experience from our other training networks (Marie Curie). In addition we have ECRs as Co-Is who will be exposed to the processes and challenges in a large programme of research
PtI4 - To demonstrate to the wider public that engineering science at this basic level will facilitate the advances of the future; we will engage with external agencies to capitalise on existing engineering outreach activities but will have our ECRs (Slatter and Bryant) implementing our outreach plan.
PtI 5 - Efficient commercialisation of research; we will use the Leeds and Sheffield infrastructure to ensure that we patent and commercialise as appropriate.
Advocacy; Tribology in 1966 was recognised by the then Minister of State for Education and Science, and recorded in Hansard , as a discipline that could have a massive impact on the economy. 50 years on and although the science and technology has evolved beyond recognition, tribology remains a lynch pin of efficient industry sectors. The Programme Grant therefore has to have an impact that will influence scientific policy in academia and industry.
To ensure advocacy we have the following in place (a) National academy committees; for UK through RAEng (Neville/Rainforth/Ghadiri are Fellows. Kapur/Neville sponsored Chairs) (b) Professional Institutions; we have membership in IMechE and IoP tribology committees (Morina (Vice Chair), Lewis (past Chair), Liskiewicz (Hon.Sec)). We have established links with IET UK Tribology through the current Chair (Dr Rich Baker) (c) Through published work; editorial roles for Neville, Dwyer-Joyce, Morina, Liskiewicz, Rainforth

Publications

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Dougill G (2020) Ecomorphology reveals Euler spiral of mammalian whiskers. in Journal of morphology

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Dreva K (2022) The effect of temperature on water desorption and oxide formation in MoS2 coatings and its impact on tribological properties in Surface and Coatings Technology

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Duboust N (2020) Towards intelligent CFRP composite machining: Surface analysis methods and statistical data analysis of machined fibre laminate surfaces in Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part B: Journal of Engineering Manufacture

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Evans M (2021) The development of a high pressure torsion test methodology for simulating wheel/rail contacts in Tribology International

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Folorunso M (2022) Effects of temperature and humidity on railhead friction levels in Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part F: Journal of Rail and Rapid Transit

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Folorunso M (2023) A Machine Learning Approach for Real-Time Wheel-Rail Interface Friction Estimation in Journal of Tribology

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Fukagai S (2021) In situ evaluation of contact stiffness in a slip interface with different roughness conditions using ultrasound reflectometry. in Proceedings. Mathematical, physical, and engineering sciences

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Fukagai S (2019) Tribological aspects to optimize traction coefficient during running-in period using surface texture in Wear

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Fukagai S (2022) Transition of the friction behaviour and contact stiffness due to repeated high-pressure contact and slip in Tribology International

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Fukagai S (2020) Transitions in rolling-sliding wheel/rail contact condition during running-in in Tribology International

 
Description We have been investigating friction....something that everyone understands but does not understand. Our key findings relate to

- friction in surfaces associated with hip joints; we are linking the role of proteins and their interactions with surfaces and friction
- soft systems; looking at gels and their friction
- leaves on the line in rail contacts; understanding friction
- particles in processing; how they stick and jam
- nanoparticle impacts; we have installed a new in-situ system in the SEM
- modelling; we are modelling mixed lubrication in soft systems
Exploitation Route We had dissemination meetings in January 2019 and we are also running our Innovation fund which enables new researchers to be getting proof of concept funding. We have several follow on PhD funded projects emerging from this work.
Sectors Aerospace, Defence and Marine,Agriculture, Food and Drink,Chemicals,Electronics,Energy,Environment,Healthcare,Manufacturing, including Industrial Biotechology,Transport,Other
 
Description Industrial Impact arising Optical Coherence Tomography methods, developed as part of Project 6, for imaging fingerpads has been used in a project funded by DSTL to compare real and simulated fingerpads. The work on tannins in leaves has helped us understand the leaves-on-the line friction problem and the analysis and helped us win a project with Network Rail to understand effects of non-visible contamination on the railhead. With this came a new portable FTIR for in-situ surface analysis. These gained considerable media exposure and led to Prof Lewis appearing on several radio programmes talking generally about friction. The HPT friction test method has been used in a follow-on RSSB project to assess conductive sand particles that will help avoid track circuit problems in Autumn. A second phase of this is now underway. It is now also being used in a separate project funded by RSSB to understand how other contamination (leaves, rust etc.) affect track circuits. It is also being used in an RSSB funded PhD to study roughness and third-body layers impact on friction in the wheel/rail interface. The LILAC leaf layer friction model developed with RSSB has been built into the LABBRADOR train braking model which is used by a range of industry stakeholders to understand how train braking is affected by low adhesion conditions. The AI friction prediction tool attracted funding by RSSB and is now being further developed as a second project where the images used as an input to the model are being captured from onboard a train. This project is in collaboration with ScotRail and Network Rail as well as RSSB. The work on wheel/rail interface friction measurement in the field and in the lab led to our participation in a project to develop an onboard train friction measuring device with Loughborough University funded by Network Rail. From these we are developing a friction database to help with multi-body dynamic modelling of train performance. Our expertise in this area led to us being involved in measurements to determine the cause of the Salisbury train crash with the RAIB. The RAIB report has also been published online now https://www.gov.uk/government/news/report-032023-track-damage-between-pencoed-and-llanharan We have also developed standard test approaches for assessing friction improvements from products applied to wheels and rails which have been published by RSSB. The work on modelling of wheel/rail interface sanding has been translated into the RA's EPSRC NIA award. One output from this project is that recycled glass can be used effectively instead of sand. The work has also led to a project with Virtual Vehicle Research on sand traction enhancing effects. The modelling of the effect of particle shape and surface roughness, adhesion, mechanical properties and air drag on bulk particulate friction has attracted the attention of HP (Barcelona) for powder spreading for Additive Manufacturing. This led to a large consultancy for the group, involving six PDRAS and several publications. Outcomes from Ch2 have been used to leverage additional funding in the form of PhD studentships with Zimmer-Biomet and AWE, which will continue the work around in situ sensing within tribological contacts. Tools developed for soft material friction within CH2 have been applied to understand the tribology of phase changing chocolates. Results were published in ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces and has received attention from a number of mainstream press, TV and Radio outlets. A 1 page review will be included in the popular science magazine 'American Scientist' in April 2023. The transition in friction and wear observed in CoCrMo alloys has been explained as part of Ch1. This offers a clear route to explaining why CoCrMo alloys have sometimes behaved very well in hip joint replacements and sometimes have been catastrophically bad. We are exploring how this can be incorporated into the design of hip joint replacements. For the first time, the role of the passive film on CoCrMo alloys on the formation of tribofilms, which then dictate friction and wear rate, has been explained. This is strongly affected by the local chemical environment in a patient's body. This explains why some patients tolerate these alloys well in hip joint replacements while in other cases a strong reaction can occur.
First Year Of Impact 2019
Sector Agriculture, Food and Drink,Chemicals,Energy,Healthcare,Transport
Impact Types Societal,Economic
 
Description Voting member of ASTM Committee G2 - T Slatter
Geographic Reach Multiple continents/international 
Policy Influence Type Membership of a guideline committee
URL https://www.astm.org/COMMITTEE/G02.htm
 
Description (BioTrib) - Advanced Research Training for the Biotribology of Natural and Artificial Joints in the 21st Century
Amount € 4,332,867 (EUR)
Funding ID 956004 
Organisation European Commission 
Sector Public
Country European Union (EU)
Start 01/2021 
End 12/2024
 
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 10/2019 
End 09/2024
 
Description (NU-SPINE) - Training innovative future leaders in research and development of materials and implants for the spine
Amount € 4,272,380 (EUR)
Funding ID 812765 
Organisation European Commission 
Sector Public
Country European Union (EU)
Start 01/2019 
End 12/2022
 
Description BP Castrol - Funded PhD project - (sensor for engine oil viscosity)
Amount £85,000 (GBP)
Organisation BP (British Petroleum) 
Sector Private
Country United Kingdom
Start 01/2017 
End 01/2021
 
Description Bio-inspired functional poro-elastic materials - Michael Bryant
Amount £280,028 (GBP)
Organisation The Leverhulme Trust 
Sector Charity/Non Profit
Country United Kingdom
Start 12/2017 
End 08/2020
 
Description Bragg Centre - Funded PhD project - (next generation of soft implant surfaces)
Amount £85,000 (GBP)
Organisation University of Leeds 
Sector Academic/University
Country United Kingdom
Start 01/2021 
End 12/2023
 
Description CAT/Perkins - Funded PhD project - (Engine Friction)
Amount £200,000 (GBP)
Organisation Caterpillar Inc. 
Sector Academic/University
Country United States
Start 09/2021 
End 09/2025
 
Description Daido Metals - Funded PhD project - (engine bearing friction and wear monitoring)
Amount £85,849 (GBP)
Organisation Daido Metal 
Sector Private
Country Japan
Start 10/2019 
End 09/2023
 
Description Daido Metals PhD Studentship
Amount £85,849 (GBP)
Organisation Daido Metal 
Sector Private
Country Japan
Start 10/2019 
End 09/2023
 
Description Development of Ultrasonic Oil Condition and Level Sensors for Use with NEXCEL
Amount £83,296 (GBP)
Funding ID 1947955 
Organisation Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 10/2017 
End 09/2021
 
Description EPSRC Doctoral Training Partnership Studentship in partnership with AC2T
Amount £85,000 (GBP)
Organisation AC2T Research 
Sector Private
Country Austria
Start 10/2021 
End 04/2025
 
Description Federal Railroad Administration Track Stress Measurement Project
Amount £116,279 (GBP)
Funding ID FRA-TR-001 
Organisation Federal Railroad Administration 
Sector Public
Country United States
Start 01/2020 
End 12/2021
 
Description Influence of tribo-electrification on bulk powder rheology
Amount £85,000 (GBP)
Funding ID 2105419 
Organisation Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 10/2018 
End 02/2022
 
Description Innovate UK Young Innovators Award - Michael Watson
Amount £5,000 (GBP)
Organisation Innovate UK 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 12/2021 
End 11/2022
 
Description Jaguar Land Rover Phd Studentship Piston rings
Amount £40,000 (GBP)
Organisation Jaguar Land Rover Automotive PLC 
Department Jaguar Land Rover
Sector Private
Country United Kingdom
Start 10/2017 
End 09/2021
 
Description Machine learning for local rail head friction estimation using environmental sensing and imaging
Amount £52,000 (GBP)
Organisation Rail Safety and Standards Board 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 11/2019 
End 03/2021
 
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 04/2022 
End 03/2025
 
Description MatOrtho - Funded PhD CDT project
Amount £85,000 (GBP)
Organisation MatOrtho Ltd 
Sector Private
Country United Kingdom
Start 01/2019 
End 12/2022
 
Description Network rail In2Track2 rail stress
Amount £75,728 (GBP)
Funding ID 23807/02/4539 
Organisation Network Rail Ltd 
Sector Private
Country United Kingdom
Start 09/2020 
End 05/2021
 
Description ORE Catapult Powertrain Research Hub
Amount £699,269 (GBP)
Organisation ORE Catapult 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 01/2019 
End 12/2024
 
Description Oncological Engineering - A new concept in the treatment of bone metastases
Amount £5,608,939 (GBP)
Funding ID EP/W007096/1 
Organisation Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 04/2022 
End 03/2027
 
Description PhD Studentship sponsored by Unilever
Amount £45,000 (GBP)
Organisation Unilever 
Sector Private
Country United Kingdom
Start 10/2020 
End 04/2024
 
Description Regional Talent Award - Michael Watson
Amount £25,000 (GBP)
Organisation Royal Academy of Engineering 
Sector Charity/Non Profit
Country United Kingdom
Start 11/2022 
End 10/2023
 
Description TRibology as an ENabling Technology (TRENT)
Amount £1,538,131 (GBP)
Funding ID EP/S030476/1 
Organisation Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 10/2019 
End 09/2023
 
Description TTRF Foundation SH waves for viscosity measurement
Amount £29,113 (GBP)
Organisation The Taiho Kogyo Tribology Research Foundation 
Sector Private
Country United States
Start 02/2019 
End 01/2023
 
Description The Timken Company Studentship
Amount £80,000 (GBP)
Organisation Timken Company 
Sector Private
Country United States
Start 10/2018 
End 09/2022
 
Description The effectiveness of esters in cooling and lubricating transmission systems in electric vehicles - dielectric fluids
Amount £85,000 (GBP)
Organisation Croda Europe Ltd 
Sector Private
Country United Kingdom
Start 01/2021 
End 12/2024
 
Description Timken - Funded PhD project - (rolling bearing lubrication sensing)
Amount £80,000 (GBP)
Organisation Timken Company 
Sector Private
Country United States
Start 10/2018 
End 09/2022
 
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 04/2021 
End 03/2025
 
Description Ultrasonic Piston Lubrication Monitoring and the Effects of Distortion and Deterioration
Amount £83,296 (GBP)
Funding ID 1947853 
Organisation Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 10/2017 
End 09/2021
 
Description WD-40 Next generation oil film measurements
Amount £25,000 (GBP)
Organisation WD-40 
Sector Private
Country United States
Start 01/2017 
End 12/2017
 
Description Zimmer-Biomet - Funded PhD DTP
Amount £85,000 (GBP)
Organisation Zimmer Biomet 
Sector Private
Country United States
Start 01/2021 
End 12/2023
 
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 Dynamic normal load fretting tribometer. 
Description Electromechanical combined fretting and sliding tribometer capable of applying normal loads between 1 - 50 N and linear displacements between 0.001 - 20 mm (max speed 80 mm/sec). Ability to apply static and dynamic normal loads whilst inducing sliding. Modular design to enable application of bespoke fixturing. 
Type Of Material Improvements to research infrastructure 
Year Produced 2021 
Provided To Others? Yes  
Impact Zimmer-Biomet PhD studentship (£80k) - modular taper derived debris EU MSCA ITN 'Biotrib' - Used within researcher projects 
 
Title In vitro Tribological Testing and Wear Assessment of Cell Monolayers 
Description Biotribology is the application of tribological knowledge to biological systems as introduced by Dowson and Wright [1]. It can be applied to many interactions involving biological tissues and medical device materials. Medical devices that involve biotribology interfaces include artificial hips or joints, catheters, stent retrievers and stents [2] and contact lenses [3]. Often, the biological tissue involves cell monolayers that exist at the device-tissue interface. This method allows the assessment of the tribological interplay between medical device materials and cell monolayers, including the creation of cellular samples that mimic the real mechanical and surface properties; the damage to the cell monolayer is then assessed. The methodology involves a glass probe sliding over an endothelial cell monolayer, seeded on a soft substrate. The interaction is then investigated in order to quantify and assess wear damage. [1] D. DOWSON and V. WRIGHT, "Bio-Tribology.," 1973. [2] R. M. F. Wagner, R. Maiti, M. J. Carré, C. M. Perrault, P. C. Evans, and R. Lewis, "Bio-tribology of Vascular Devices: A Review of Tissue/Device Friction Research," Biotribology, vol. 25, p. 100169, Mar. 2021. [3] A. C. Dunn, J. A. Tichy, J. M. Uruenã, and W. G. Sawyer, "Lubrication regimes in contact lens wear during a blink," in Tribology International, 2013, vol. 63, pp. 45-50. 
Type Of Material Biological samples 
Year Produced 2020 
Provided To Others? No  
Impact Publication is imminent with an abstract submitted for a special issue of the IMechE Journal of Engineering Tribology and the technique is also planned for dissemination in conferences. It has potential for impact in any research areas related to medical device interactions (artificial hips or joints, catheters, stent retrievers and stents) 
 
Title Multi-axis motion sensors to detect micromotion at modular medical device interfaces. 
Description Custom motion sensors were developed using the principle of eddy-current effect as the transducer mechanism. The eddy-current effect is a form of electromagnetic induction which may be utilised to measure the distance to a conductive object. A coil is excited by and AC current to generate an alternating magnetic field, which induces eddy currents in nearby conductive targets. These currents generate an opposing magnetic field, in accordance with Lenz's law, which cancels a part of the applied field and reduces the coil flux. This field coupling between the coil and conductive target acts to increase the coil's resistance, and reduce the observed inductance. As the target moves closer to the coil, the increased alternating field increases the eddy-current density causing a further decrease in inductance. This change in inductance may be calibrated to the distance between the coil and target, giving a displacement sensor which is highly resistant to environmental effects. To capture all types of motion at the taper interface, this study employed four sensing coils on a single custom PCB (P&M Services ltd, UK), allowing for 4 degrees of freedom measurement of the motion. The coils were mounted to the male component below the taper interface and aluminium targets were mounted on the femoral head. Three coils were used to calculate the vector of a plane which allowed pistoning and toggling in two axes to be determined. A fourth coil perpendicular to the other three was used to measure rotation. Texas Instruments (USA) coil and LDC design tools was were used to guide sensor design 63. Each coil comprised of two layers, each with 16 turns, 100 µm (or 4 mil) spacing between turn and 200 µm (8 mil) between layers, 100 µm trace width, an outer diameter of 10 mm and external capacitance of 330 pf. The coils were driven and monitored using a fully integrated, 4-channel inductance to digital converter chip (LDC 1614, Texas Instruments, US). The digital output of the LDC 1614 was then sent to a microcontroller (myRIO, National Instruments, US) via I2C protocol and inductance was recorded at 100 Hz. Raw inductances were then calculated and stored as a .txt file using a bespoke LabView (2019, National Instruments, US) program for export into Matlab (R2020a, MathWorks, US). A bespoke, Matlab program was developed for the conversion of inductance to displacements and the different motions i.e. pistoning, toggling and rotation. The sensors were calibrated using a piezo linear precision positioner stage (MikroMove, Physik Instruments, UK) accurate to 0.1 nm. This included fixing the aluminium target to the precision positioner stage and moving it relative to the coil board which was fixed to a spare male component. Coil 4 was calibrated separately before soldering into position. Calibration curves were determined across the full range of target-coil distances. Three separate sets of calibration data were then used to test the determined inductance-to-displacements relationships. Residuals from the three sets of data indicate that the sensing solution was found to be accurate to ± 0.5 µm. Four coils were used to capture all the different types of motion, including: pistoning, toggling YX, toggling XZ and Rotation. The x and y coordinates of the three points were defined in the coordinate system by the centre of each coil. The z coordinate was the measured target-coil distance. Pistoning was determined by first calculating two vectors in the plane (VAB and VAC using three points A, B and C). The second step was to determine the normal (n) to the plane by taking the cross product of these two vectors (Equation 1). Thirdly, the perpendicular distance (d) from the origin to the plane was determined by taking the dot product of the normal and a point on the plane (Equation 2). n = VABAB VAC Equation 1 d = A . n Equation 2 Toggling YZ was found by first determining the angle the plane, at each sampling point, made with Y axis in the YZ plane i.e. rotation about the x-axis (sx, Equation 3). Likewise, Toggling XZ was found by determining the angle the plane, at each sampling point, made with X axis in the XZ plane i.e. rotation about the y-axis (sy, Equation 4). Each rotation was converted to an equivalent displacement at the taper surface assuming a radius (r) of 7 mm using Equation 5 and Equation 6}. x=90-cos-1n.jn j Equation 3 y=90-cos-1n.in i Equation 4 Toggling YZ = r tan(x) Equation 5 Toggling XZ = r tan(y) Equation 6 Rotation was calculated by use of a fourth coil perpendicular to coils 1 to 3. Once the inductance was converted to a displacement, this was then used to calculate a rotation angle using a radius distance from the centre of coil 4 to the z-axis. The displacement at the taper interface was then calculated as the arc length assuming a radius of 7 mm and the rotation angle derived from the coil. Each subsequent rotation displacement was subtracted from the first calculated value of rotation for relative position with respect to the start of the experiment. All motions calculated from this study were subtracted from an equivalent monoblock to allow the removal of any elastic deformation measured from the test samples. The monoblock was a sample that was assembled to a high force of 8 kN and welded at the taper opening. 
Type Of Material Improvements to research infrastructure 
Year Produced 2021 
Provided To Others? Yes  
Impact EPSRC IAA with MatOrtho - Streamlining preclinical assessment Zimmer-Biomet PhD studentship (£80k) - modular taper derived debris Zimmer-Biomet CASE studentship (£30k) - preclinical testing of total shoulder replacements 
 
Description Collaboration project - WB coating tribology perfomance at high temperature (800C) 
Organisation Beijing University of Technology
Country China 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Samples are provided by the collaborators and we did the tribology tests under different testing conditions. All the samples were sent back for further analysis by the collaborators.
Collaborator Contribution Sample preparation and post-test characterisation, data analysis and manuscript writing.
Impact Manuscripts is under preparation
Start Year 2022
 
Description Collaboration project - WB coating tribology perfomance at high temperature (800C) 
Organisation University of Sheffield
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Samples are provided by the collaborators and we did the tribology tests under different testing conditions. All the samples were sent back for further analysis by the collaborators.
Collaborator Contribution Sample preparation and post-test characterisation, data analysis and manuscript writing.
Impact Manuscripts is under preparation
Start Year 2022
 
Description Collaboration project - WS2/a-C coating performance in dry air and 400C 
Organisation University of Manchester
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Samples are provided by the collaborators and we did the tribology tests under different testing conditions. All the samples were sent back for further analysis by the collaborators.
Collaborator Contribution Sample preparation and post-test characterisation, data analysis and manuscript writing.
Impact Manuscripts is under preparation.
Start Year 2021
 
Description Collaboration project - WS2/a-C coating performance in dry air and 400C 
Organisation University of Sheffield
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Samples are provided by the collaborators and we did the tribology tests under different testing conditions. All the samples were sent back for further analysis by the collaborators.
Collaborator Contribution Sample preparation and post-test characterisation, data analysis and manuscript writing.
Impact Manuscripts is under preparation.
Start Year 2021
 
Description Collaboration project - improving wear and corrosion resistance using surface modification 
Organisation University of Birmingham
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Samples are provided by the collaborators and we did the tribology tests under different testing conditions. We also did brief SEM/EDX and TEM images.
Collaborator Contribution Sample preparation and post-test characterisation, data analysis and manuscript writing.
Impact One paper published: Tao, Xiao, Jiahui Qi, Mark Rainforth, Allan Matthews, and Adrian Leyland. 2020. "On the Interstitial Induced Lattice Inhomogeneities in Nitrogen-Expanded Austenite." Scripta Materialia 185:146-51. And two were submitted.
Start Year 2020
 
Description Collaboration project - improving wear and corrosion resistance using surface modification 
Organisation University of Sheffield
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Samples are provided by the collaborators and we did the tribology tests under different testing conditions. We also did brief SEM/EDX and TEM images.
Collaborator Contribution Sample preparation and post-test characterisation, data analysis and manuscript writing.
Impact One paper published: Tao, Xiao, Jiahui Qi, Mark Rainforth, Allan Matthews, and Adrian Leyland. 2020. "On the Interstitial Induced Lattice Inhomogeneities in Nitrogen-Expanded Austenite." Scripta Materialia 185:146-51. And two were submitted.
Start Year 2020
 
Description Friction Innovation Fund 
Organisation Afton Chemical
Country United States 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution The collaboration is a the coordination of a friction innovation fund, jointly funded by the listed industrial partners and the Universities in receipt of the Friction: The Tribology Enigma grant (£50k commitment from Universities of Leeds and Sheffield). The Friction Innovation Fund will provide up to £50,000 research funding per project via 6 monthly calls for innovative Proof-of-Concept tribology projects that will drive research on the understanding and prediction of friction. The Universities administer and secure funding for the fund via collaboration with industry funders secured as part of the programme grant bid. The Universities administer the grant, and award funding based on a competitive application process with independent Chair Prof. Ian Hutchings. The Universities also host a showcase of the results of the fund at the programme grant annual meeting. In-kind contributon of staff time for reviewing grant applications and fund administration are made. So far 2 projects have been funded - for University of Salford and Manchester Metropolitan University.
Collaborator Contribution The industry partners to the grant provide a cash contribution and in-kind contribution of staff time for ranking/scoring of applications to determine the awards of funding, in collaboration with the programme grant PIs and Independent Chair. To date 1 publication has resulted from 1 of the Innovation projects (both concluded end of 2020), and more are expected from both project. The industry partners also provide and in-kind contribution for attendance to the dissemination meetings.
Impact Dougill G, Starostin EL, Milne AO, van der Heijden GHM, Goss VGA, Grant RA. (2020). Ecomorphology reveals Euler spiral of mammalian whiskers.. Journal of morphology, 281 (10), pp. 1271-1279
Start Year 2018
 
Description Friction Innovation Fund 
Organisation Manchester Metropolitan University
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution The collaboration is a the coordination of a friction innovation fund, jointly funded by the listed industrial partners and the Universities in receipt of the Friction: The Tribology Enigma grant (£50k commitment from Universities of Leeds and Sheffield). The Friction Innovation Fund will provide up to £50,000 research funding per project via 6 monthly calls for innovative Proof-of-Concept tribology projects that will drive research on the understanding and prediction of friction. The Universities administer and secure funding for the fund via collaboration with industry funders secured as part of the programme grant bid. The Universities administer the grant, and award funding based on a competitive application process with independent Chair Prof. Ian Hutchings. The Universities also host a showcase of the results of the fund at the programme grant annual meeting. In-kind contributon of staff time for reviewing grant applications and fund administration are made. So far 2 projects have been funded - for University of Salford and Manchester Metropolitan University.
Collaborator Contribution The industry partners to the grant provide a cash contribution and in-kind contribution of staff time for ranking/scoring of applications to determine the awards of funding, in collaboration with the programme grant PIs and Independent Chair. To date 1 publication has resulted from 1 of the Innovation projects (both concluded end of 2020), and more are expected from both project. The industry partners also provide and in-kind contribution for attendance to the dissemination meetings.
Impact Dougill G, Starostin EL, Milne AO, van der Heijden GHM, Goss VGA, Grant RA. (2020). Ecomorphology reveals Euler spiral of mammalian whiskers.. Journal of morphology, 281 (10), pp. 1271-1279
Start Year 2018
 
Description Friction Innovation Fund 
Organisation Rail Safety and Standards Board
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Public 
PI Contribution The collaboration is a the coordination of a friction innovation fund, jointly funded by the listed industrial partners and the Universities in receipt of the Friction: The Tribology Enigma grant (£50k commitment from Universities of Leeds and Sheffield). The Friction Innovation Fund will provide up to £50,000 research funding per project via 6 monthly calls for innovative Proof-of-Concept tribology projects that will drive research on the understanding and prediction of friction. The Universities administer and secure funding for the fund via collaboration with industry funders secured as part of the programme grant bid. The Universities administer the grant, and award funding based on a competitive application process with independent Chair Prof. Ian Hutchings. The Universities also host a showcase of the results of the fund at the programme grant annual meeting. In-kind contributon of staff time for reviewing grant applications and fund administration are made. So far 2 projects have been funded - for University of Salford and Manchester Metropolitan University.
Collaborator Contribution The industry partners to the grant provide a cash contribution and in-kind contribution of staff time for ranking/scoring of applications to determine the awards of funding, in collaboration with the programme grant PIs and Independent Chair. To date 1 publication has resulted from 1 of the Innovation projects (both concluded end of 2020), and more are expected from both project. The industry partners also provide and in-kind contribution for attendance to the dissemination meetings.
Impact Dougill G, Starostin EL, Milne AO, van der Heijden GHM, Goss VGA, Grant RA. (2020). Ecomorphology reveals Euler spiral of mammalian whiskers.. Journal of morphology, 281 (10), pp. 1271-1279
Start Year 2018
 
Description Friction Innovation Fund 
Organisation Rolls Royce Group Plc
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution The collaboration is a the coordination of a friction innovation fund, jointly funded by the listed industrial partners and the Universities in receipt of the Friction: The Tribology Enigma grant (£50k commitment from Universities of Leeds and Sheffield). The Friction Innovation Fund will provide up to £50,000 research funding per project via 6 monthly calls for innovative Proof-of-Concept tribology projects that will drive research on the understanding and prediction of friction. The Universities administer and secure funding for the fund via collaboration with industry funders secured as part of the programme grant bid. The Universities administer the grant, and award funding based on a competitive application process with independent Chair Prof. Ian Hutchings. The Universities also host a showcase of the results of the fund at the programme grant annual meeting. In-kind contributon of staff time for reviewing grant applications and fund administration are made. So far 2 projects have been funded - for University of Salford and Manchester Metropolitan University.
Collaborator Contribution The industry partners to the grant provide a cash contribution and in-kind contribution of staff time for ranking/scoring of applications to determine the awards of funding, in collaboration with the programme grant PIs and Independent Chair. To date 1 publication has resulted from 1 of the Innovation projects (both concluded end of 2020), and more are expected from both project. The industry partners also provide and in-kind contribution for attendance to the dissemination meetings.
Impact Dougill G, Starostin EL, Milne AO, van der Heijden GHM, Goss VGA, Grant RA. (2020). Ecomorphology reveals Euler spiral of mammalian whiskers.. Journal of morphology, 281 (10), pp. 1271-1279
Start Year 2018
 
Description Friction Innovation Fund 
Organisation Timken Company
Country United States 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution The collaboration is a the coordination of a friction innovation fund, jointly funded by the listed industrial partners and the Universities in receipt of the Friction: The Tribology Enigma grant (£50k commitment from Universities of Leeds and Sheffield). The Friction Innovation Fund will provide up to £50,000 research funding per project via 6 monthly calls for innovative Proof-of-Concept tribology projects that will drive research on the understanding and prediction of friction. The Universities administer and secure funding for the fund via collaboration with industry funders secured as part of the programme grant bid. The Universities administer the grant, and award funding based on a competitive application process with independent Chair Prof. Ian Hutchings. The Universities also host a showcase of the results of the fund at the programme grant annual meeting. In-kind contributon of staff time for reviewing grant applications and fund administration are made. So far 2 projects have been funded - for University of Salford and Manchester Metropolitan University.
Collaborator Contribution The industry partners to the grant provide a cash contribution and in-kind contribution of staff time for ranking/scoring of applications to determine the awards of funding, in collaboration with the programme grant PIs and Independent Chair. To date 1 publication has resulted from 1 of the Innovation projects (both concluded end of 2020), and more are expected from both project. The industry partners also provide and in-kind contribution for attendance to the dissemination meetings.
Impact Dougill G, Starostin EL, Milne AO, van der Heijden GHM, Goss VGA, Grant RA. (2020). Ecomorphology reveals Euler spiral of mammalian whiskers.. Journal of morphology, 281 (10), pp. 1271-1279
Start Year 2018
 
Description Friction Innovation Fund 
Organisation University of Salford
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution The collaboration is a the coordination of a friction innovation fund, jointly funded by the listed industrial partners and the Universities in receipt of the Friction: The Tribology Enigma grant (£50k commitment from Universities of Leeds and Sheffield). The Friction Innovation Fund will provide up to £50,000 research funding per project via 6 monthly calls for innovative Proof-of-Concept tribology projects that will drive research on the understanding and prediction of friction. The Universities administer and secure funding for the fund via collaboration with industry funders secured as part of the programme grant bid. The Universities administer the grant, and award funding based on a competitive application process with independent Chair Prof. Ian Hutchings. The Universities also host a showcase of the results of the fund at the programme grant annual meeting. In-kind contributon of staff time for reviewing grant applications and fund administration are made. So far 2 projects have been funded - for University of Salford and Manchester Metropolitan University.
Collaborator Contribution The industry partners to the grant provide a cash contribution and in-kind contribution of staff time for ranking/scoring of applications to determine the awards of funding, in collaboration with the programme grant PIs and Independent Chair. To date 1 publication has resulted from 1 of the Innovation projects (both concluded end of 2020), and more are expected from both project. The industry partners also provide and in-kind contribution for attendance to the dissemination meetings.
Impact Dougill G, Starostin EL, Milne AO, van der Heijden GHM, Goss VGA, Grant RA. (2020). Ecomorphology reveals Euler spiral of mammalian whiskers.. Journal of morphology, 281 (10), pp. 1271-1279
Start Year 2018
 
Description Friction Innovation Fund 
Organisation Virtual Vehicle
Country Austria 
Sector Charity/Non Profit 
PI Contribution The collaboration is a the coordination of a friction innovation fund, jointly funded by the listed industrial partners and the Universities in receipt of the Friction: The Tribology Enigma grant (£50k commitment from Universities of Leeds and Sheffield). The Friction Innovation Fund will provide up to £50,000 research funding per project via 6 monthly calls for innovative Proof-of-Concept tribology projects that will drive research on the understanding and prediction of friction. The Universities administer and secure funding for the fund via collaboration with industry funders secured as part of the programme grant bid. The Universities administer the grant, and award funding based on a competitive application process with independent Chair Prof. Ian Hutchings. The Universities also host a showcase of the results of the fund at the programme grant annual meeting. In-kind contributon of staff time for reviewing grant applications and fund administration are made. So far 2 projects have been funded - for University of Salford and Manchester Metropolitan University.
Collaborator Contribution The industry partners to the grant provide a cash contribution and in-kind contribution of staff time for ranking/scoring of applications to determine the awards of funding, in collaboration with the programme grant PIs and Independent Chair. To date 1 publication has resulted from 1 of the Innovation projects (both concluded end of 2020), and more are expected from both project. The industry partners also provide and in-kind contribution for attendance to the dissemination meetings.
Impact Dougill G, Starostin EL, Milne AO, van der Heijden GHM, Goss VGA, Grant RA. (2020). Ecomorphology reveals Euler spiral of mammalian whiskers.. Journal of morphology, 281 (10), pp. 1271-1279
Start Year 2018
 
Description Industrial Sample Provision 
Organisation ASML
Country United States 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Tribology of ASML coatings
Collaborator Contribution Provision of industrial samples
Impact PhD (Arron Bird) and papers in preparation
Start Year 2019
 
Description Industrial Sample Provision 
Organisation University of Sheffield
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Tribology of ASML coatings
Collaborator Contribution Provision of industrial samples
Impact PhD (Arron Bird) and papers in preparation
Start Year 2019
 
Description Industry Academia Partnership Programme (IAPP) - University of Cape Town 
Organisation Amira International
Country Australia 
Sector Charity/Non Profit 
PI Contribution Delivering lectures at University of Cape Town during a dedicated workshop on particle characterisation by Prof Ghadiri, Dr Xia, Dr Borissova, Dr Nezamabadi, Dr Pasha and Dr Nadimi Hosting Cape Town team at University of Leeds, two visits, first visit by Dr Safari, second visit by Prof Aubrey Mainza, Dr Safari and Dr David N. de Klerk. Hosting Prof Indresan Govender
Collaborator Contribution Organising a 3-days workshop at the University of Cape Town Attending 16th European Symposium on Comminution & Classification at Leeds (https://escc2019.com/) Delivering keynote and regular presentation during ESCC2019
Impact Knowledge transfer Safari M, Nadimi S, Deglon D, Filho L, Souza T. Investigating the Effect of Particle Characteristics on Iron Ore Separation using X-ray Micro Tomography. In: 16th European Symposium on Comminution & Classification (ESCC 2019). 2019, Leeds: University of Leeds. M. Ghadiri was invited to give a talk to an international milling consortium on mechanisms of size reduction in spiral jet mills.
Start Year 2018
 
Description Industry Academia Partnership Programme (IAPP) - University of Cape Town 
Organisation North Star Imaging Inc
Country United States 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Delivering lectures at University of Cape Town during a dedicated workshop on particle characterisation by Prof Ghadiri, Dr Xia, Dr Borissova, Dr Nezamabadi, Dr Pasha and Dr Nadimi Hosting Cape Town team at University of Leeds, two visits, first visit by Dr Safari, second visit by Prof Aubrey Mainza, Dr Safari and Dr David N. de Klerk. Hosting Prof Indresan Govender
Collaborator Contribution Organising a 3-days workshop at the University of Cape Town Attending 16th European Symposium on Comminution & Classification at Leeds (https://escc2019.com/) Delivering keynote and regular presentation during ESCC2019
Impact Knowledge transfer Safari M, Nadimi S, Deglon D, Filho L, Souza T. Investigating the Effect of Particle Characteristics on Iron Ore Separation using X-ray Micro Tomography. In: 16th European Symposium on Comminution & Classification (ESCC 2019). 2019, Leeds: University of Leeds. M. Ghadiri was invited to give a talk to an international milling consortium on mechanisms of size reduction in spiral jet mills.
Start Year 2018
 
Description Industry Academia Partnership Programme (IAPP) - University of Cape Town 
Organisation Royal Academy of Engineering
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Charity/Non Profit 
PI Contribution Delivering lectures at University of Cape Town during a dedicated workshop on particle characterisation by Prof Ghadiri, Dr Xia, Dr Borissova, Dr Nezamabadi, Dr Pasha and Dr Nadimi Hosting Cape Town team at University of Leeds, two visits, first visit by Dr Safari, second visit by Prof Aubrey Mainza, Dr Safari and Dr David N. de Klerk. Hosting Prof Indresan Govender
Collaborator Contribution Organising a 3-days workshop at the University of Cape Town Attending 16th European Symposium on Comminution & Classification at Leeds (https://escc2019.com/) Delivering keynote and regular presentation during ESCC2019
Impact Knowledge transfer Safari M, Nadimi S, Deglon D, Filho L, Souza T. Investigating the Effect of Particle Characteristics on Iron Ore Separation using X-ray Micro Tomography. In: 16th European Symposium on Comminution & Classification (ESCC 2019). 2019, Leeds: University of Leeds. M. Ghadiri was invited to give a talk to an international milling consortium on mechanisms of size reduction in spiral jet mills.
Start Year 2018
 
Description Industry Academia Partnership Programme (IAPP) - University of Cape Town 
Organisation University of Cape Town
Country South Africa 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Delivering lectures at University of Cape Town during a dedicated workshop on particle characterisation by Prof Ghadiri, Dr Xia, Dr Borissova, Dr Nezamabadi, Dr Pasha and Dr Nadimi Hosting Cape Town team at University of Leeds, two visits, first visit by Dr Safari, second visit by Prof Aubrey Mainza, Dr Safari and Dr David N. de Klerk. Hosting Prof Indresan Govender
Collaborator Contribution Organising a 3-days workshop at the University of Cape Town Attending 16th European Symposium on Comminution & Classification at Leeds (https://escc2019.com/) Delivering keynote and regular presentation during ESCC2019
Impact Knowledge transfer Safari M, Nadimi S, Deglon D, Filho L, Souza T. Investigating the Effect of Particle Characteristics on Iron Ore Separation using X-ray Micro Tomography. In: 16th European Symposium on Comminution & Classification (ESCC 2019). 2019, Leeds: University of Leeds. M. Ghadiri was invited to give a talk to an international milling consortium on mechanisms of size reduction in spiral jet mills.
Start Year 2018
 
Description Machine learning tool for friction forecasting Phase 1 
Organisation Rail Safety and Standards Board
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Public 
PI Contribution Wheel/rail AI friction prediction tool developed and validated.
Collaborator Contribution Funding; access to track and technical expertise; dissemination opportunities and media exposure
Impact Validated prediction tool; journal paper
Start Year 2019
 
Description Machine learning tool for friction forecasting Phase 1 
Organisation University of Sheffield
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Wheel/rail AI friction prediction tool developed and validated.
Collaborator Contribution Funding; access to track and technical expertise; dissemination opportunities and media exposure
Impact Validated prediction tool; journal paper
Start Year 2019
 
Description Machine learning tool for friction forecasting Phase 2 
Organisation Rail Safety and Standards Board
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Public 
PI Contribution Demonstrator for AI friction predictor developed
Collaborator Contribution Funding; access to track and technical expertise; dissemination opportunities and media exposure
Impact Demonstrator for tool
Start Year 2022
 
Description Machine learning tool for friction forecasting Phase 2 
Organisation University of Sheffield
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Demonstrator for AI friction predictor developed
Collaborator Contribution Funding; access to track and technical expertise; dissemination opportunities and media exposure
Impact Demonstrator for tool
Start Year 2022
 
Description Partnership with TOTAL_IAA 
Organisation Total E & P
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution The objective of this partnership was translating two important, and interlinked, aspects of tribochemistry research into real engine systems with Total. The research team at Leeds used the in-house developed in-situ Raman tribometer and the numerical model to analyse the tribology and tribochemistry of engine tested components. This collaboration was supported by both TOTAL and the EPSRC Impact Acceleration Award.
Collaborator Contribution TOTAL contributed with funding part of the project, running engine tribology test and sending them to Leeds for analyses and by funding technician/researcher time at TOTAL.
Impact PCT/EP2020/068004; PCT/EP2020/068122
Start Year 2016
 
Description PhD sponsorship by Unilever 
Organisation Unilever
Department Unilever UK R&D Centre Port Sunlight
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Supervision and delivery of a PhD study on the bio-tribology of consumer beauty and care products.
Collaborator Contribution Part funding of PhD study.
Impact Project currently scoping aims and objectives.
Start Year 2020
 
Description Smart rail head cleaning 
Organisation Network Rail Ltd
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Passenger train cleaning system developed; camera box installed on train for image capture so AI tool can be used to switch on cleaning
Collaborator Contribution Funding; access to track and vehicles and technical expertise; dissemination opportunities and media exposure
Impact Camera box trialled so far
Start Year 2022
 
Description Smart rail head cleaning 
Organisation ScotRail Railways Limited
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Passenger train cleaning system developed; camera box installed on train for image capture so AI tool can be used to switch on cleaning
Collaborator Contribution Funding; access to track and vehicles and technical expertise; dissemination opportunities and media exposure
Impact Camera box trialled so far
Start Year 2022
 
Description Smart rail head cleaning 
Organisation University of Sheffield
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Passenger train cleaning system developed; camera box installed on train for image capture so AI tool can be used to switch on cleaning
Collaborator Contribution Funding; access to track and vehicles and technical expertise; dissemination opportunities and media exposure
Impact Camera box trialled so far
Start Year 2022
 
Title Machine Learning based tool for wheel/rail interface friction estimation 
Description The tool uses rail head images, images of track surroundings and environmental information to estimate wheel/rail interface friction. 
Type Of Technology Software 
Year Produced 2021 
Impact In the future this will help inform drivers and route planners of low adhesion issues in Autumn reducing incidents and delays to trains. 
 
Title Slippy Python Package for Tribologists 
Description A python package for tribologists. Including: Surface analysis and generation: - multiple random surface generation methods - easy integration with alicona and .csv files - easy generation of common surface shapes for modelling Boundary element normal contact analysis: - CPU and GPU back ends available - easily extendable system for custom behaviour - simple user interface allowing the user to build complex models Mixed lubrication modelling with user defined non newtonian fluids 
Type Of Technology Software 
Year Produced 2021 
Open Source License? Yes  
Impact First soft release has been completed, the software is in ongoing development, it will be developed further with outputs directly from the grant, and from wider external collaboration. 
URL https://friction.org.uk/slippy-software/
 
Title Wheel-rail interface leaf friction model (LILAC) 
Description COde designed to predict friction in the wheel-rail interface with leaves present. Inputs include wheel/rail interface conditions and third-body material levels. 
Type Of Technology Software 
Year Produced 2019 
Impact The model is being integrated to a train braking model to help tune train braking parameters for low adhesion conditions. 
 
Description A DEM Insight on Manipulating Friction by Rail Sanding - Nadimi, S. 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Rail Sanding is a common practice in the railway industry to manipulate the friction at the
wheel-rail interface during both braking and traction [1]. Although sanding has been widely
accepted as an effective material, in particular for contaminated conditions such as leaf films on the
line, there is a lack of understanding on the influence of the sand characteristics.
In this study, a tribological testing method, called High Pressure Torsion (HPT) [2], is modelled using
Discrete Element Method (DEM). The HPT method is a means of quantifying the friction between
two specimens, in presence of third body materials. In this approach, the torque required to gently
twist a specimen in contact with another specimen under a given normal pressure in an annulus is
measured. This allows the calculation of shear stresses in the contact and therefore
characterisation of the friction. Here, the specimens are made from wheel and rail materials and
the third body material is a different type of sand particles.
To systematically study the mechanisms of traction enhancement of sand particles in the rail-wheel
interface, a DEM model is developed which allows incorporation of different particle shape and the
breakage of particles under loading (see Figure 1). The role of particle morphology, i.e. size and
shape, is evaluated and compared with previous experimental studies [3]. Further work will
investigate extending the range of particles properties, such as material strength and fracture
energy with the ultimate aim of enhancing the current engineering guidelines.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL https://mercurylab.co.uk/dem8/
 
Description ADHERE Webinar Series April-June 2020 - R Lewis 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact ADHERE (ADHEsion REsearch challenge) sets out to deliver research to achieve 'adhesion conditions that are unaffected by and independent of the weather and climate' and address industry's gaps in knowledge with new insight that helps improve how we manage low adhesion. RSSB has set up a cross-industry research programme to develop a better understanding of the causes of low adhesion and possible mitigation strategies. ADHERE (ADHEsion REsearch challenge) aims to deliver research to achieve 'adhesion conditions that are unaffected by and independent of the weather and climate'. The programme strives to address gaps in the industry's knowledge with new insight which will help to improve the management of low adhesion. The webinars aimed to disseminate advances managing low adhesion, and significant contributions were made from Challenge 2 of the programme grant via 3 seminars (of 5) contributed to by R Lewis from the programme grant.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
URL https://www.rssb.co.uk/what-we-do/key-industry-topics/adhesion/adhere-programme-webinar-series
 
Description Alaaeddin Al Sheikh Omar - Probing the mechanical properties of soot to understand the tribology of contaminated diesel engine oils - K-TRIB 2020 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Oral presentation at 'K-TRIB 2020' by Alaaeddin Al Sheikh Omar
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
URL http://k-trib2020.org/?page_id=143
 
Description An analysis of the quality of experimental design and reliability of results in tribology research - Wear of Materials 2019 - Dr Michael Watson 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact Oral presentation a 'Wear of Materials 2019' conference by Dr Michael Watson
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0043164818315904
 
Description Annual Royal Microscopical Society School in Elecron Microscopy - every Spring or Summer 2008 onwards 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Postgraduate students
Results and Impact Week long Training School for users of the technique
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2008,2009,2010,2011,2012,2013,2014,2015,2016,2017,2018,2019,2020,2021
 
Description Article in international and national media - Understanding why leaves on the line cause low friction - M Watson 
Form Of Engagement Activity A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Media (as a channel to the public)
Results and Impact A press release, radio and newspaper interviews were carried out in relation to publication of research. This was related to publication of a paper in Proceedings of the Royal Society A (doi: 10.1098/rspa.2020.0057) demonstrating the underlying causes of low friction leaf layers that form on rail tracks in autumn and cause significant delays. The press release was picked up in national and international news outlets including The Guardian, iNews, The Telegraph, Phys.org, nrc.nl (Netherlands), tekniikkatalous.fi (Finland), Gigazine (Japan). Interviews were carried out for BBC Radio Cambridge, and national newspapers.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
URL https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/jul/29/scientists-find-out-why-leaves-on-the-track-causes-t...
 
Description Article in national media - Article on solutions to leaves on the line - R Lewis 
Form Of Engagement Activity A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Media (as a channel to the public)
Results and Impact A press release was issued relating to a dry ice solution for leaves on the line that had been developed at the University of Sheffield. Numerous national media articles were written based on the press release, including articles in the Daily Mail, Times, BBC wesbsite and IMechE. Dry ice was trialled for use as a railhead cleaning agent in autumn 2018 on a low traffic freight line, and was then further trialled during autumn 2019 on a selection of sites across the UK. Network Rail Arriva Rail North, the wider rail industry and Supertram in Sheffield have all shown interest in/made further plans from the research.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/news/nr/leaves-on-the-line-railways-solutions-delays-dry-ice-how-to-remo...
 
Description Article in national media - synthetic tongue development - M Bryant and A Neville 
Form Of Engagement Activity A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Media (as a channel to the public)
Results and Impact A press release was put out based on the publication '3D Biomimetic Tongue-Emulating Surfaces for Tribological Applications' (Efren Andablo-Reyes, Michael Bryant, Anne Neville, Paul Hyde, Rik Sarkar, Mathew Francis, and Anwesha Sarkar), M Bryant and A Neville from the Friction grant were heavily involved in the work to develop a synthetic tongue, this is related to work on the grant on soft tribology applications, and is useful in understanding the fundamentals of human feeding and speech. The press release has introduced this work to a wider audience in the general public, and the contributions tribology can have to human health. This press release was picked up by several national news agencies including the Daily Mail, Irish News, and Evening Express.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
URL https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-8881341/Scientists-create-synthetic-soft-surface-hum...
 
Description BBC Radio Interview - Leaves on the line - Dr. Mike Watson 
Form Of Engagement Activity A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Dr. Mike Watson explained the problem of leaves on the line, and how pioneering research from Friction: The Tribology Enigma has helped to understand the problem, and potential solutions.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
URL https://www.thenakedscientists.com/podcasts/naked-scientists-podcast/sizzling-bbq-science
 
Description Be Curious Science Outreach event 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Schools
Results and Impact Microscopy Talk, Activities and Display at Be Curious Festival at University of Leeds, Annual event every March
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2016,2017,2018,2019,2020
URL http://www.leeds.ac.uk/info/4000/around_campus/460/be_curious_festival-about_leeds_and_yorkshire
 
Description Brazilian National Railway Engineering Symposium talk - R Lewis 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Presentation to the Wheel/Rail Interface: Measurement; Understanding and Problem Solving as part of the Railway Engineering Symposium a forum to disseminate research results, but also to bring together representatives of the academy, railway concessionaires and manufacturers of railway material in a single environment.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
URL https://www.simposio-ferroviario.com.br/
 
Description Co-organisation of Royal Society Discussion Meeting, Dynamic in-situ microscopy relating structure and function 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Fast-track discussion meeting organised by Dame Pratibha Gai FREng FRS, Professor Edward Boyes, Professor Rik Brydson and Professor Richard Catlow FRS.
October 21-22 2019
This meeting evidenced and advanced development in dynamic in-situ environmental electron, scanning probe, optical and fast time resolved microscopy and computer modelling studies of vital interest in the chemical, physical and life sciences, underpinning technologies of high commercial and societal value. It focused on the pivotal role of imaging and spectroscopy for dynamic processes across the sciences to access previously invisible aspects of real world processes.
An accompanying journal issue for this meeting was published in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL https://royalsociety.org/science-events-and-lectures/2019/10/in-situ-microscopy/
 
Description Conference Presentation 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Presentation given at the European Society of Biomechanics on the links between biotribology and Acoustic emission. This was to approx. 60 attendees which included researchers from a wide variety of backgrounds.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
 
Description CrowdScience BBC Podcast on Friction - Roger Lewis 
Form Of Engagement Activity A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press)
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Media (as a channel to the public)
Results and Impact Every movement involves friction. Lubricants may reduce it, brake pads aim to maximise it, but what actually is going on? And could we ever get rid of friction completely?
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
URL https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3ct3j7y
 
Description DEM Simulation of Mechanofusion System - Nadimi, S. 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Mechanofusion is a dry coating method for fine powders in the micron and sub-micron
particle size range[1]. The bulk powder is compressed against a retaining wall by a high centrifugal
force field and is sheared at a high strain rate by a fixed 'pusharm', engaging with the bed, thereby
further increasing the compressive force, and shearing it. The use of the centrifugal field does not
allow the bed to get aerated, and therefore the shearing forces acting on individual particles can be
sufficiently high and suitable for dry coating of fine powders by smearing their surfaces with coating
powders, flow aids, lubricants and glidents [2]. It could also even alter the physical and chemical
characteristics of the surfaces. Its application in pharmaceutical engineering has been explored by
Zhou et al. [3] by assessing the extent of coating of fine lactose powders by magnesium stearate
(MgST) powder. The use of MgST is ubiquitous in the pharmaceutical industry as it enhances
powder flowability and tabletting. Therefore the vast range of applications for fine powder
processing raises the demand for detailed knowledge of the system dynamics and factors affecting
the energy requirements and process efficiency. In this study, the mini-mechanofusion system of
Hosokawa Micron is modelled using Discrete Element Method (DEM) at four different operational
speeds. Particle dynamics around the pusharm and velocity profiles before the pusharm and at the
highest compression zone are analysed. Stresses on the pusharm are also quantified and correlated
to the operational speed. The expended energy for this extreme shearing condition is also
quantified and correlated to operational speed.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL https://mercurylab.co.uk/dem8/
 
Description Dr Kate Tomlinson presents on International Women in Engineering Day 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Postgraduate students
Results and Impact On 23rd June Postdoctoral Research Associate Kate Tomlinson joined in with celebrations for International Women in Engineering Day by giving a short talk in the department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Sheffield. As well as explaining some of her research, Kate shared her story of how she got into engineering following a career change. She spoke about how the quote "you have to see it to be it" resonates with her and how she hopes to be a positive role model for the next generation.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
URL https://friction.org.uk/dr-kate-tomlinson-presents-on-international-women-in-engineering-day/#more-5...
 
Description Dry Ice for Cleaning Railhead - PWI Lunch & Learn - Roger Lewis 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Online lecture for PWI (Permanent Way Institution) - THE INSTITUTION FOR RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE ENGINEERING
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
URL https://www.thepwi.org/event/dry-ice-for-cleaning-railhead/
 
Description Friction Outreach - Lydgate Junior School Sheffield - R Lewis and R Maiti 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Schools
Results and Impact Sheffield researchers from the Friction Programme Grant Roger Lewis and Raman Maiti ran a friction outreach event at Lydgate Junior School in Sheffield as part of the schools Science Week. Roger talked to all 4 year groups at the school (120 pupils) about the causes of friction and why it's important to understand it. This was accompanied by some fun practical demonstrations of friction to the students.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
 
Description Friction Outreach - Tapton Secondary School Seminar Series - R Lewis 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Schools
Results and Impact Seminar on the fundamentals of friction and the importance of friction/tribology in everyday life, including why it's an important and interesting subject to study at University, and potential career options in the field.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
 
Description Hybrid workshop of "Introduction of Tribocorrosion and the application of Tribometers" - University of Sheffield, Jiahui Qi 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Postgraduate students
Results and Impact Students came from Imperial College London (online) and the University of Sheffield (on site).
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
 
Description Imaging dynamic sub-surface skin strain patterns during object interaction using Optical Coherence Tomography. Z.S. Lee (2021) 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact The fingertip acts as an efficient tactile sensing organ with high acuity and sensibility. It is populated by thousands of mechanoreceptors responsible for translating the various aspects of the skin deformations into spike trains. However, receptors are located within the skin and separated from the surface, where object contact happens, by several layers of skin tissue. Little is known about the biomechanics of the skin below its immediate surface, even though sub-surface skin strains are ultimately transduced by mechanoreceptors to form the first stage of sensory encoding in the tactile system.
In this study, we employ Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT), a non-invasive imaging technique appropriate for biological tissue, to capture the skin's internal morphology. The recorded data consists of images acquired with OCT at a rate of 20 frames per second and presents a sliced side view along the proximal-distal axis of the fingerpad with high spatial resolution (7.5 µm lateral and 5µm axial resolution). The images capture the finger pad while various surfaces slide against it along the imaging direction. The skin surface, the epidermal ridges, the stratum corneum, and the dermis-epidermis ridges can be identified in the acquired images.
To study the biomechanics of the captured tissues, we first tracked features of the movement of the skin in different layers. Then we reconstruct time-varying strain patterns to derive the local skin strain changes at different depths. In particular, a Delaunay triangulation was computed over the tracked features, and for each triangle, displacement field gradients were derived within adjacent frames and used to calculate Green-Lagrange strains. This technique allows us to reconstruct the skin mechanics at the location where mechanoreceptors are typically located.We found stereotypical spatiotemporal patterns of mechanical strain that depend on the mechanical, elastic, and geometrical features of both the sliding object and the skin. Interestingly, we observed differences in the strain propagation between and within different skin layers.
This study provides valuable insight into the mechanical transduction process at different skin layers. The data will help understand how surface strains propagate into deep layers of the skin tissues towards mechanoreceptor locations and shed light on the nature and function of skin morphology in encoding tactile stimuli.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
URL https://www.abstractsonline.com/pp8/#!/10485/presentation/25015
 
Description Interview for Wired Magazine - Roger Lewis 
Form Of Engagement Activity A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Media (as a channel to the public)
Results and Impact Professor Roger Lewis was featured in a Wired Magazine article on the complexities of predicting friction due to leaves on rail lines. He provided expert opinion on, and explanation of, the issues of leaves on rail line and the influence on friction between the wheel and the rail.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
URL https://www.wired.co.uk/article/network-rail-leaves-on-the-line-uk
 
Description Inverview on BBC Radio 4 - Roger Lewis 
Form Of Engagement Activity A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press)
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Professor Roger Lewis on The Curious Cases of Rutherford and Fry on BBC Radio 4 in which they discuss how tribology affects us in our everyday lives, including one of the biggest causes of train delays.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
URL https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00114n5
 
Description Invited presentations on Cryogenic Railhead Cleaning - R Lewis 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact Invited presentations to Network Rail (x 3 presentations in 2020) to discuss work on Cryogenic Railhead Cleaning Trials
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
 
Description Matt Carre - "Synthetic test-beds for assessing human-object tribological interactions" - Invited Talk 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact The complex tribological behaviour of biological tissue when in contact with products, devices and surfaces brings about many challenges when developing test-beds capable of replicating human-object interactions. Recent studies have used a combined approach including in vivo imaging of biomechanical response to loading, candidate material assessment and validation protocols to develop successful synthetic test platforms capable of assessing products, and the effect of contaminants, in relation to frictional interactions with human systems.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
URL https://www.wtc-2022.org/en/scientific-program/invited-speakers/36
 
Description Michael Bryant - AMPP Corrosion Impacts in Biomedical Devices 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact What truly happens to metallic implants and medical devices when placed in the human body? This 2-day virtual short course (3 hours each day) will explore the many facets of corrosion impacts in metallic biomaterials and biomedical devices from those we intend to corrode (such as biodegradable stents and sutures/clips) to those meant to last (hip and knee implants). Industry and academic experts will share their knowledge and experiences to give you insights into the types of corrosion you can expect, appropriate testing methods to identify corrosion, and guidance on remediation tactics.

This short course will give you a foundation surrounding the interface between metals and biology; from an introduction into how corrosion works within the human body, to common types of corrosion, the types of alloys you will encounter in the industry, as well as other contributing factors that play heavily into the life of the device. These contributing factors include surface tribology and corrosion (or tribocorrosion), fretting corrosion, crevice corrosion, and the chemistry and biology that further degrade the devices and implants and are associated with adverse biological reactions.

The biological interaction with metallic biomaterials and corrosion is endlessly complex with potentially beneficial or exceedingly dangerous effects. Walk away with understanding of corrosion test methods, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy methods, implant testing methods, and electrochemical sensing and diagnostics.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
URL https://www.ampp.org/get-involved/technical-committees/corrosion-technical-series/corrosion-impacts-...
 
Description Michael Bryant - Fabrication of Cartilage-Inspired Hydrogel/Entangled Polymer-Elastomer Structures Possessing Poro-Elastic Properties 
Form Of Engagement Activity A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Academic paper covered in the media - Phys.org / Tribonet / NewAtlas
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
URL https://www.leeds.ac.uk/news-science/news/article/4807/inspired-by-nature-the-research-to-develop-a-...
 
Description Michael Bryant - How the next generation of artificial joints are being tested at the University of Leeds 
Form Of Engagement Activity A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact Interview with NS Medical Devices on how the EU MC ITN BioTrib project is contributing to new implant test methodologies and standards.

Artificial joints were a breakthrough in medical technology and are still the go-to treatment for severely damaged or worn hips and knees - two of the most common joints to be replaced. But the cohort of patients undergoing this type of surgery are getting younger, and with replacement materials made to last for between 15 and 20 years, implants can no longer be a one-size-fits-all treatment. University of Leeds mechanical engineering professors Richard Hall and Michael Bryant explain to Peter Littlejohns how their newly-launched project is putting the next generation of implants through rigorous testing procedures.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
URL https://www.nsmedicaldevices.com/analysis/testing-next-generation-artificial-joints/#
 
Description Mingwen Bai - Advanced In-situ Microscopy for Examination of Nanoscale Tribological Contacts - Nanobruecken 2019 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Poster Presentation by Mingwen Bai at 'Nanobruecken 2019' conference
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL https://www.ivam.de/events/nanobruecken_2019_?lang=en
 
Description Mingwen Bai - Advanced In-situ Microscopy for Examination of Nanoscale Tribological Contacts - New Challenges in Tribology 2019 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Poster presentation at 'New Challenges in Tribology 2019' by Mingwen Bai
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL https://communities.theiet.org/communities/events/item/20/39/21581
 
Description Mojtaba Ghadiri & Wei Pin Goh - Advances in Particle Technology Workshop 2022 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Postgraduate students
Results and Impact Reliable and consistent operation of processes involving particulate solids depends critically on understanding powder behaviour through the characterisation of its chemical, physical and mechanical properties, and their interactions with process equipment. In this workshop, leading experts in the field outline the latest advances in the field. The workshop provides a forum for addressing basic principles as well as discussing the state-of-the art techniques and latest developments.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
URL https://aipt2022.co.uk/
 
Description Particle Characterisation Workship - University of Cape Town - Mojtaba Ghadiri 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact Researchers from Friction PG visited the University of Cape Town, South Africa, 26/11- 3/12/2018 and delivered a workshop on Particle Characterisation in collaboration with the academics there and attended by engineers from mineral processing industry and university researchers. This workshop was organised as a part of Industry-Academia Partnership Programme (IAPP) called 'CAPE Partnership: Characterisation Advances in Particle Engineering' supported by the Royal Academy of Engineering to enable the use of advanced particle characterisation techniques for improving the mineral processing efficiency.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
URL https://friction.org.uk/particle-characterisation-workshop-university-of-cape-town/
 
Description Pint of Science talk - Friction in the air tonight - Scott Beamish, Jiahui Qi & Zing Lee 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Can you decipher what is fact and what is friction? Learn about tribology and how it is fundamental to our world in a fascinating demonstration requiring you to put your knowledge to the test. Perhaps you'd rather discover how to turn scrap metals into silver and gold? Our talk on modern-day alchemy might be the one for you. Join us for a spellbinding evening exploring the materials underpinning our world and how they might benefit you!
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
URL https://pintofscience.co.uk/event/friction-in-the-air-tonight
 
Description Pint of Science talk - Getting to Grips with Friction - M Carre and R Lewis 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Friction PG researchers Dr Matt Carré and Professor Roger Lewis took part in the public 'Pint of Science - All hands to the pump' event in Sheffield on 22nd May 2019. They explained some fundamentals of friction related to human grip and manipulation of objects, and how this affects our gripping and perception abilities.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
 
Description R Beadling - Hip joint simulation of healthy weight and obese patient walking gait profiles: from patient to simulator - 4th International Conference on BioTribology 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact Oral presentation (not included in published conference proceedings)
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
URL https://www.tribonet.org/conferences/2018/09/4th-international-conference-on-biotribology-icobt2018-...
 
Description Raman Maiti - Tribological simulation of the interaction between the cardiovascular device and HUVEC cells - 8th International Conference on Mechanics of Biomaterials and Tissues 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact Oral presentation at '8th International Conference on Mechanics of Biomaterials and Tissues' by Dr Raman Maiti
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL https://www.elsevier.com/events/conferences/international-conference-on-mechanics-of-biomaterials-an...
 
Description Rob Beadling - Quantification of corrosive material loss from CoCrMo-Ti6Al4V fretting contacts - ES Biomech 2019 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Oral Presentation at 'ES Biomech 2019' by Dr Rob Beadling
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL https://esbiomech.org/conference/archive/2019vienna/Contribution_891.pdf
 
Description Rob Beadling - Quantification of corrosive material loss from CoCrMo-Ti6Al4V fretting contacts - Leeds-Lyon 2019 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Oral presentation by Rob Beadling at 'Leeds-Lyon 2019'
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL https://leeds-lyon2019.sciencesconf.org/256259/document
 
Description Roger Lewis - Donald Julius Groen Prize Lecture - "The Wheel/Rail Interface: Understanding and Controlling the Complex Tribology of an Open System" 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact The wheel/rail interface is one of the most complex interfaces tribologists have to deal with. It is an open system with constantly varying contact forces and slip. This means that it presents a wide range of behaviours in terms of friction and wear which at their extremes can compromise train safety. It also means that replicating the behaviour in the laboratory and predicting its behaviour is very difficult.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
URL https://events.imeche.org/ViewEvent?code=TLE7210
 
Description S Nadimi - A study on performance of three-dimensional imaging system for physical models - 9th International Conference on Physical Modelling in Geotechnics 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact Oral presentation (not included in published conference proceedings).
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
URL https://www.city.ac.uk/9th-international-conference-physical-modelling-in-geotechnics-2018
 
Description S Nadimi - Discrete element modelling of shear deformation of rough particles - 6th European Conference on Computational Mechanics (ECCM 6) and 7th European Conference on Computational Fluid Dynamics (ECFD 7) 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact Oral presentation (not included in published conference proceedings)
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
URL http://www.eccm-ecfd2018.org/admin/files/fileabstract/a1421.pdf
 
Description S Nadimi - The role of glidants in interparticle friction - Annual General Meeting of International Fine Particle Research Institute (IFPRI) 2018 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact Poster presentation (not included in published conference proceedings)
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
URL https://ifpri.net/events/ifpri-40th-annual-general-meeting
 
Description S Nadimi - The role of glidants in interparticle friction - International Congress on Particle Technology (PARTEC 2019) 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact Oral presentation (not included in published conference proceedings)
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL https://www.partec.info/
 
Description S Nadimi - The role of glidants in interparticle friction - Powder Flow 2018 - Cohesive Powder Flow 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact Oral presentation, not included in published conference proceedings.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
URL http://www.formulation.org.uk/pf18home.html
 
Description Sadegh Nadimi - DEM Insight on Manipulating Friction by Rail Sanding - 8th International Conference on Discete Element Methods 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Oral presentation at '8th International Conference on Discete Element Methods' by Sadegh Nadimi
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL https://mercurylab.co.uk/dem8/
 
Description Sadegh Nadimi - DEM Simulation of Mechanofusion System - 8th International Conference on Discete Element Methods 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Oral presentation at '8th International Conference on Discete Element Methods' by Sadegh Nadimi
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL https://mercurylab.co.uk/dem8/
 
Description Scientific Organisation of Microscience Microscience Microscopy Congresses MMC2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Attendance and presentation at conferences
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2013,2015,2017,2019,2021
URL https://www.mmc-series.org.uk/
 
Description Sixth form visit to Tribology Excellence Hub University of Sheffield - R Lews and R Maiti 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Schools
Results and Impact Local sixth form students visited University of Sheffield for hands on practical demonstrations of tribology from everyday applications. The goal was to increase the interest of sixth form students in Tribological research and help to increase university applications in this area.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
 
Description Talk to SWJT University Undergraduates - "Tribology: From the Wheel/Rail Interface to Apples, via Rugby Balls and Teeth Cleaning" - Roger Lewis 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Postgraduate students
Results and Impact See description
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
 
Description Wei Pin Goh & Mojtaba Ghadiri - Powder Characterisation Workshop 2021 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Postgraduate students
Results and Impact Reliable and consistent operation of processes involving particulate solids depends critically on understanding powder behaviour through the characterisation of its chemical, physical and mechanical properties. In this workshop, leading experts in the field outline the principles and methods for characterisation, ranging from molecular level to single particles and to bulk levels. The workshop provides a forum for addressing basic principles as well as discussing the state-of-the art techniques and latest developments.

The workshop is tailored for scientists, engineers and technologists who wish to gain a better understanding of powder characteristics with the purpose of addressing powder handling, processing and manufacturing issues from a fundamental basis. It covers a broad overview of various characterisation approaches, followed by an in-depth assessment of their significance.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
URL https://ghadiri-group.leeds.ac.uk/events/powder-characterisation-workshop-2022/
 
Description Wei Pin Goh & Mojtaba Ghadiri - Powder Characterisation Workshop 2022 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Postgraduate students
Results and Impact Reliable and consistent operation of processes involving particulate solids depends critically on understanding powder behaviour through the characterisation of its chemical, physical and mechanical properties. In this workshop, leading experts in the field outline the principles and methods for characterisation, ranging from molecular level to single particles and to bulk levels. The workshop provides a forum for addressing basic principles as well as discussing the state-of-the art techniques and latest developments.

The workshop is tailored for scientists, engineers and technologists who wish to gain a better understanding of powder characteristics with the purpose of addressing powder handling, processing and manufacturing issues from a fundamental basis. It covers a broad overview of various characterisation approaches, followed by an in-depth assessment of their significance.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
URL https://ghadiri-group.leeds.ac.uk/events/powder-characterisation-workshop-2022/
 
Description Xiangwei Li - Measurement of Friction by Nano-Scale Slip Using a High Power Ultrasonic Wave - 74th STLE 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Oral presentation at '74th STLE' by Xiangwei Li
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL https://www.stle.org/
 
Description Zing Lee - Imaging dynamic sub-surface skin strain patterns during object interaction using Optical Coherence Tomography - Neuroscience 2021: Interdisciplinary, Innovative, Inclusive 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Oral presentation by Zing Lee at 'Neuroscience 2021: Interdisciplinary, Innovative, Inclusive'
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
URL https://www.sfn.org/meetings/neuroscience-2021