WHY

In reality, due to a misalignment, vibrations or other reasons high speed pump rotors can come in contact with the stator, leading to a catastrophic failure.  This failure is a result of severe shearing of the contacting surfaces. However, the existing ASTM Galling method (G 196), is performed at very high pressures and very low speeds, and does not simulate the “actual” conditions met at high speeds.

WHY

In the effort to reduce CO2 exhaust, an important approach is to reduce friction in the engine.  One part of the mix of options are ‘friction modifying additives’, such as the well-known GMO, which are known to reduce friction by 5, 10 or 20%. However, the difficult task is to prove the effect of friction modifiers in the engine, since existing engine tests measure the interaction of all sliding and moving components, as well as lubricant viscosity and other effects. In order to isolate and evaluate the efficiency of friction modifiers, a precision frictional approach is required. 

WHY

Evaluating frictional and wear characteristics of very thin nanostructured layers with macro scale tribometers, in the Newton load range, can create unrealistic conditions.  Wear phenomena are highly dependent on the contact conditions: such high loads are not relevant in the case of MEMS. The adhesive and capillary components that contribute to friction, in a micro-contact, can not be simulated with high load devices.  Therefore, there is an increasing need to use new tribological testers and procedures to obtain a better understanding of surface interactions on an appropriate scale.

WHY

The failure of the hip replacement is often a combination of tribocorrosion of the hip joint materials and inflammations due to wear particles in the body. A new methodology needs to be developed so as to allow for a fast prescreening of the reliability of new biomaterials, in conditions that simulate the actual conditions (e.g. environment, motion, contact pressure, countermaterial). 

WHY

Surgical suture, holding body tissue together after an injury or surgery, is a complex product.  The thread can be surface treated or coated for a number of reasons. One of them is to facilitate the insertion through tissue, the other to hold the knots tightly.  Friction of the suture over skin, is thus important to control.  Measuring skin-suture friction allows improvement of these threads and their surface treatment.

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WHY

A variety of oils for the automotive industry is available in the market. These oils have different composition, additives and can operate under different conditions (motion, load, speed and temperature). A method need to be used to prescreen the performance and endurance of these oils under different conditions, which are relevant to the automotive industry.    

WHY

 One of the most difficult industrial issues related to tribology is the prediction of long term wear or material durability.  In many components and products, materials with or without lubrication are used to reduce wear and maintain functionality of the component.  Required ‘wear life’ may be thousands of hours.  Contrary to the determination of a ‘coefficient of friction’ – which can be done in a few hours, the determination of wear and wear rate under realistic conditions is a long term test. The challenge is twofold : perform low wear rate experiments with many repeats at an economically acceptable cost.  The only way to do this is by a multistation approach (performing many wear experiments simultaneously). 

We have demonstrated the first commercial version of our TAA Tackiness and Adhesion Analyzer last week at the ELGI Fall meetings in Amsterdam.

WHY

Polymer based composites are considered as one of the most important engineering materials for naval applications. They can be used in the superstructures, decks, bulkheads, advanced mast systems, propellers, propulsion shafts, rudders, pipes, pumps, valves, machinery and other equipment on large ships. In the majority of these applications these composites are subjected to mechanical loading in a corrosive environment. Thus their performance and/or lifetime is strongly dependent on both of these factors. In this application a methodology was developed to evaluate the effect of the corrosive environment (seawater) on the tribological performance of composite polymers is sliding contacts.