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WHY

The standard method for evaluating anti-wear of hydraulic fluids in a vane pump, is by the 100 hour ASTM or 250 hour ISO method, using a real Conestoga-built vane pump.  This method takes a long time to run, and requires a lot of fluid.  This makes it difficult to use the method for development or research.

WHY

Skin creams are commonly used to improve skin health and create a smooth, soft, and moist perception. This is achieved by altering the surface roughness, friction, and adhesion of skin surface. Despite the fact that there are many commercial creams available, there is no consistent scientific approach to determine their frictional and adhesive properties.

WHY

In everyday life people use hairstyling products such as waxes or gels, to improve the holding of hair and improve/change its appearance. However, in the market there are many products available, claiming to have different characteristics (e.g. strong hold, silky/smooth touch…). To define the performance of such products, tribology comes into play. In particular two parameters are important. The friction determines how easy a wax or gel can be applied, whereas the stickiness and tackiness determine their holding ability.    

WHY

Wiper blades are of great importance to the safety of the driver. In reality they can operate under different speeds (various scales in the car) or under different lubrication conditions (from dry to wet with thin or thick film of water). To simulate these conditions in lab scale you need to have a versatile apparatus and you will need to use the actual components to be as close to reality as possible.  

WHY

In everyday life we come across and use applications were wires are operated in sliding contacts. Some examples are elevators, car doors, canopies etc. In the majority of these applications, friction is critical (e.g. the wire in a canopy should slide smoothly), and after a period of tuse, wear damage of the wire can also obstruct the performance.    

WHY

Nowadays polymer based coatings are applied in all walks of life, due to their excellent corrosion resistance, low friction and cost, good surface finish, molding ability and low density. However, one of the main issue of these coatings is their relatively poor performance in terms of wear. Especially, when sliding under high speeds, frictional heating can lead to a softening of the coating and accelerate the wearing-off process. Evaluating the high speed sliding performance of polymer coatings is a key issue in many applications.     

WHY

Various types of polymers can be used on steel cables, to provide a controlled-friction and noise-reducing coating when used on pulleys.  An efficient way to prescreen the behaviour of different types of polymers, in terms of frictional stability and durability, is needed.

WHY

Air conditioner compressor fluids have to prevent friction and wear under elevated gas pressure.  Standard Pin&Vee Block tests with gas 'bubbling' through the lubricant do not correlate with field behaviour, especially with CO2 as the cooling medium.  Another simulation with pressurized gas is needed.  We selected the Falex Block on Ring configuration, as it also recreates the line contacts and is able to work at higher speed than the Pin&Vee block machine.

WHY

WHY

Examples of corrosion are found in many industrial applications ranging from aeronautical, automotive, naval, and the construction industry over home appliances, water systems, pipelines, and ‘bio’ applications. Corrosion phenomena can be significantly accelerated by the simultaneous occurrence of a mechanical load on the surface: the formation of cracks and surface defects, along with surface strain and stress fields lead to faster diffusion of corrosive ions or the destruction of protective layers (depassivation). Thus there is a need to understand the synergy between wear and corrosion.

WHY

One issue in the pharmaceutical industry, is the abrasion of processing components for pressing the powders. The intensity of the abrasion phenomena strongly depends on the composition and size of the processed powders. Up to date there is no fixed procedure on how to evaluate such abrasion phenomena, in conditions that simulate the realistic process.

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

Shock absorber component testing is expensive and time-consuming and this is a limiting factor in developing new materials for this application. There is a need to develop a pre-screening method to get a quick but accurate evaluation of the tribological behavior of materials, without losing too much correlation with the actual conditions (geometry, wear mechanism, load, speed, number of cycles etc.).

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WHY

Polymeric materials are used more and more as cage material for light weight bearing applications, but thermoplastic materials suffer from PV limits.  At high speeds, the polymer may melt easily under light loads.  Thermoset resins don't have this limit, but may still disintegrate under higher temperatures.  In this method, we can apply high speeds and variable loads, to explore the limits of thermosets.

WHY

Nowadays there is a great demand to use lightweight materials, such as aluminium alloys. One of their application possibilities is in the forming industry. In such demanding applications the use of a cutting fluid is essential to lubricate cutting edge and cool down the workpiece. Until now, to evaluate the efficiency of cutting fluids, ASTM D3233 tests on a Falex Pin-and-Vee Block tester were performed. However, this procedure was developed on hard tool steels and thus it is not appropriate for soft materials, such as aluminum alloys. In this application study and a modification of this procedure is proposed for testing of cutting fluids for soft materials and alloys.          

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

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

The reliability of industrial equipment, transportation systems, nuclear and conventional power plants etc. can be significantly influenced by surface phenomena such as corrosion and wear. With the increasing pressure on development time and the need for higher performance, there is also an increasing need to measure and quantify the degradation phenomena faster and better. In this perspective, nuclear activation technology - as already used in engine testing- can provide accurate in-situ measurement and precise monitoring of wear, mass transfer, corrosion and erosion.

WHY

The steering system of cars is based on a rack and pinion system. Over time, the metal on these gears wears out, resulting in a loose fitting. Some other applications also make use of a rack and pinion system to translate a rotary drive motion into a linear displacement.  The wear and tear of such systems occurs through a roll-slip mechanism. Therefore a tribological method needs to be developed to simulate such roll-slip contacts and their failure mechanisms.