EM 560/EM 531 – Tribology
Welcome!
Enzoh Langi (PhD)
[Link]@[Link]
enzohlangi@[Link]
EM 560 – Tribology
Exam 60%
❑ Course level: 5
❑ Credit value: 24
❑ Delivery type: FD
❑ Course type: Standard
❑ Course duration: 1,2,3
Course work
Assignment, labs
and test 40%
EM 560 – Tribology
Lecture Notes
❑ To be provided
❑ Or write your own notes
Private study – beyond the notes!
❑ Read around the subject
❑ Privately study questions from previous tests and exams
❑ May provide web links + articles
EM 560 – Tribology
Recommended reading
❑ Marcel Dekker, Bearing Design in Machinery
❑ A.A Seireg, Friction and Lubrication in Mechanical design
❑ Bernard J. Hamrock Fundamentals of Fluid Film Lubrication
❑ Yukio Hori, Hydrodynamic Lubrication
❑ Gwidon W. Stachowiak, Engineering Tribology
❑ Ludema, K.C Friction, wear, lubrication : a textbook in
tribology
❑ T.A Stolarski, Tribology in Machine Design
❑ Arnnel , Tribology
Introduction
Plan of todays presentation
❑ Tribology, its historical development
❑ Applications
What is Tribology?
❑ Derived from the Greet word “tribos” means rubbing or
sliding.
❑ It focuses on friction, wear and lubrication of interacting
surfaces in relative motion.
❑ Tribology is the study of the science and technology of
interacting surfaces in relative motion.
❑ Tribological knowledge helps to improve service life, safety
and reliability of interacting machine components: and
yields substantial economic benefits.
❑ Tribological knowledge is cardinal in applications where
Friction is needed: cite examples in daily life and engineering
applications.
Friction must be avoided or minimized: cite examples in daily
life and engineering applications.
Tribology
Examples 1 : Applications Where Friction is needed
❑ Braking
❑ Traction
❑ Grinding
❑ Cutting metal
❑ Playing Violin
❑ Entry of asteroids into Earths Atmosphere
Tribology
Examples 1 : Applications Where Friction is NOT needed
❑ Wheel Axle Bearings
❑ Piston Rings and Cylinder walls in a Vehicle
❑ Human Joints (Knees etc.)
❑ Re-entry of a Space Craft into the Earths atmosphere
Tribology
Wear Friction
Lubrication
Tribology
❑ Friction: Resistance to relative motion
❑ Wear: Gradual removal, damage or displacement of material
❑ Lubrication: Control of friction and wear by introduction a friction-
reducing film between moving parts.
Tribology
Need of Tribological Study
❑ To minimise and eliminate losses.
❑ Greater efficiency, performance, fewer breakdowns and
savings.
❑ Study various losses and analysis of losses.
❑ Reduce losses by introducing a layer of lubrication.
❑ Atomic and molecular observation on sliding surfaces.
Tribology
❑ The increasing application of tribological information can
result in considerable savings in the consumption of energy
and material, as well as in production and maintenance
costs.
❑ Energy and raw material resources can be conserved,
environmental damage can be avoided, and occupational
safety and production can be improved.
❑ The application of tribology in engineering encompasses all
phases of moving mechanical systems in a multitude of
industrial and economic fields.
Tribology for Energy Conservation
❑ Tribology has a part to play in the development of energy
efficient technology at many different levels.
❑ In manufacture, in enabling components to operate with
long life and low friction during use and in making
practicable innovative energy saving engines and
transmissions.
Role of Tribology in Energy Efficiency
❑ Tribology has a key role to play in the introduction of energy
efficiency technology.
❑ Tribology is particularly important in todays world because so
much energy is lost to friction in mechanical components.
❑ To use less energy, we need to minimise the amount that is
wasted.
❑ Significant energy is lost due to friction in sliding interfaces.
❑ Therefore, finding way to minimise friction and wear through
new technologies in tribology is critical to a greener and more
sustainable world.
Practice vs theory
1900: Theory is several steps behind the practice
Practice vs theory
1940: Theory is behind the practice
Practice vs theory
1960: Theory catches up with practice
Practice vs theory
1990: The trial-and-error testing becoming more and more difficult.
Theory leads practice
History of Tribology
History of Tribology
In ancient times, on the order of
about 500,000 B.C., early humans
learned that by rubbing sticks
together with great force they
could create fire.
Around 3500 B.C. we learned that
rolling motion required less effort
than sliding, and the wheel was
invented.
History of Tribology
❑ An Egyptian painting dating back to 1880 B.C. depicts workers
dragging a sled containing a heavy statue.
❑ One worker pours a liquid on the ground just before the runners to
make the going easier.
1495-1950: Laws of friction are developed
❑ In 1495 Leonardo formulated the two basic laws of
friction: Friction is independent of contact area, and
friction is proportional to load. For years, he never got
credit for his work, as he did not formally publish his
observations.
❑ Some 200 years later, in 1699, Guillaume Amontons
(1663-1705) rediscovered these two basic laws. He
reasoned that friction was primarily the result of work
done to lift one surface over the roughness of the other,
resulting in deformation and wear of the surfaces.
❑ Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727), in studying and creating
the basic laws of motion, added that moving friction
was not dependent on speed or velocity, thus
formulating the third law of friction. All these
observations were made in the macro scale.
❑ In 1950, Phillip Bowden and David Tabor gave a physical explanation for
the observed laws of friction. They determined that the true area of
contact, which is formed by the asperities on the surface of a material, is
a very small percentage of the apparent area. As the normal force
increases, more asperities come into contact and the average area of
each asperity contact grows.
❑ As our ability to analyse surface contacts at the monomolecular level has
developed, we are learning that the “macro” laws don’t necessarily hold
and that the processes of interaction are quite complex.
❑ “Amontons Laws of Friction are the first quantitative description of a
tribological process. Attempts (theories, mechanisms, models) to explain
these laws have been central to the development of tribology.” —Bill
Needelman, Filtration Science Solutions.
1883-1905: Principles of hydrodynamic lubrication are elaborated
❑In 1883, the elucidation of hydro-dynamic lubrication began in
England, with testing done by Beauchamp Tower. He used a
specially constructed test rig for journal bearings, simulating the
conditions found in railway axle boxes
❑In the final phase of his research, Tower decided to drill an oil feed
hole in the bearing. The oil was found to rise upwards in the feed
hole and leak over the top of the bearing cap. He then installed a
pressure gauge and found it to be inadequate for measuring the
high pressure levels. This result proved the existence of a fluid film
that could carry significant loads.
❑In 1886 Osborne Reynolds published a differential equation
describing this pressure build-up of the oil in the narrow
converging gap between journal bearing surfaces. This equation, a
variation of the Navier-Stokes equations resulting in a second-order
differential equation, was so complex that many years passed
before it was solved for journal bearings.
❑In 1902 Richard Stribeck, published the Stribeck curve, a plot of
friction as it relates to viscosity, speed and load.
❑After the work of Tower and Reynolds, Arnold Sommerfeld refined
the work into a formal theory of hydrodynamic lubrication in about
1905.
❑ A surface have tiny asperities that will contact if two plates are placed
together. If one of the plates were to slide over the other, then friction
would increase, the asperities would break and the surfaces would
wear. In hydrodynamic lubrication, a fluid film separates the surfaces,
prevents wear and reduces friction.
❑ The hydrodynamic film is formed when the geometry, surface motion
and fluid viscosity combine to increase the fluid pressure enough to
support the load. The increased pressure forces the surfaces apart and
prevents surface contact. This is called hydrodynamic lift.
Hydrodynamic bearings get load support by hydrodynamic lift.
❑ The most recognizable hydrodynamic bearings are slider bearings and
journal bearings, both used extensively in machinery and vehicles—
thanks to the development of hydrodynamic lubrication theory.
❑ “The experiments of Beauchamp Tower formed the basis of modern
day hydrodynamic lubrication and inspired Osborne Reynolds to
develop the Reynolds equation, which has remained at the centre of
fluid film lubrication to this day.” —Martin Webster, ExxonMobil R&E
❑ In 1905 fluid-film thrust bearings
patented by Australian engineer
George Michell. Michell bearings
contain a number of sector-shaped
pads, arranged in a circle around the
shaft, and which are free to pivot.
Michell's invention was notably
applied to the thrust block of
propeller driven ships. Their small
size (one-tenth the size of old
bearing designs), low friction and
long life enabled the development of
more powerful engines and
propellers.
❑In 1912 Dr. Albert Kingsbury invented the hydrodynamic thrust
bearing.
❑In 1922 understanding of Boundary lubrication refined by W.B.
Hardy and I. Doubleday.
❑1930s to 1940s The first zinc dialkyldithiophosphates (ZDDPs) began
to be developed as anticorrosion agents and oxidation inhibitors.
The antiwear activity of these molecules was recognized only later,
in the 1950s, at which point they became an integral part of many
oil chemistries. To this day ZDDPs remain the backbone of antiwear
additive technology.
❑ PTFE, the most famous of the self-lubricating coating materials,
was discovered fortuitously during a project looking at
tetrafluoroethylene as a refrigerant.
❑In 1942 Lithium grease invented & rapidly became widely used
multipurpose grease.
❑ In 1950 Synthetic oils introduced for usage in aviation.
❑ In 1950s Fire Resistant Hydraulic Fluids developed.
❑ In 1962 Aluminium Complex grease invented for high temperature
applications.
❑ In 1960s Multi-grade motor oils introduced.
❑ In 1960s Synthetic oils used for motor oils.
❑ In 1986 the development of the Atomic Force Microscope enabled
scientists to study & understand friction at the atomic scale.
❑ 1980 onwards Biolubricants developments begin.
❑ 1990 onwards Nanotribolgy, Biotribology developments begin
Benefits of Tribology
❑ Helps in reducing friction and wear.
❑ Proper type of lubrication can be easily selected.
❑ Increased efficiency and life of a product or machine.
❑ Best utilisation of a machine can be achieved.
❑ Corrosion prevention.
❑ Investigation of damage.
❑ Management of knowledge.
❑ Environmental friendly and recyclable.
❑ The principles of friction, wear and lubrication are the most important in
tribology and often engineered to optimise the efficiency, performance
and reliability of a tribological system.
Where is Tribology?
Where is Tribology? Sports
Leather or synthetic
Source: [Link]
Where is Tribology?
Cosmetics
Where is Tribology? Mechanism- gears, bearings etc.
According to specifications, the bearings
were to have a life of more than 50 years.
Where is Tribology?
Nature and human body
Tribology