TRIBOLOGY
1 - 17
H. PETER JOST
President, International Dibology Council, K. S. Paul Products Ltd., Angel Lodge Labs.,
Nobel Road, London N18 3DB (U.K.)
1. Intr~uction
We all know the story of Newton asleep under an apple tree, when
an apple fell on his head. He woke up, and established the Laws of Gravity.
As Tribologists, we may well ask whether, had Newton slipped on a banana
skin, that would have led to his recognition of the importance of force transference between two surfaces in relative motion, from which the concept of
tribology might have been born 300 years ago.
Alas, bananas were not available in the 17th century, and this recognition therefore had to wait until 1966 when, on March 9,1966, the word and
concept of tribology were first enunciated to an unsuspecting world in a
report of a Committee of the British Department (Ministry) of Education
and Science [lf. In it, tribology, derived from the Greek tribes-rubbing, was
defined as The science and technology of interacting surfaces in relative
motion - and of associated subjects and practices.
Largely because of its multidisciplinary nature, the concept of tribology had been universally neglected, or even overlooked. As a direct result of
this neglect, the development of mechanical engineering design had been
retarded, and vast sums of money had been lost through unnecessary wear
and friction and their consequences.
2. The search for a word
There can be no moving parts, whether sliding, rolling or rubbing,
where forces are not transmitted from one moving surface to another, whether in a large steel rolling mill, a person walking on a carpet, or indeed a
mechanism of a space station. Yet, during the Committees work, it was
found the English language, or any other language, had no existing word
for the concept of interacting surfaces in relative motion and its technical
and economic consequences. This surprised even the members of the specialist committee.
After consultation with the Editor of the Oxford Dictionary,
the word
and concept of tribology were invented. Tribology is now recognized as a
vital ingredient of our technological age. It has become one of the few technologies, which is likely to influence signifi~~tly the design of many mech*Opening address of Eurotrib 89, Helsinki.
Elsevier Sequoia/Printed
in The Netherlands
anisms; furthermore
it is one that could limit mechanical engineering development, if additional research and development
cannot bridge the present
knowledge gap, and all this even before the end of this century.
Tribology is now in the dictionary
of every industrial country; it has
reached the ultimate etymological
recognition,
viz. a detailed entry in the
supplement of the Oxford English Dictionary [2]. All over the world there
are now professorial chairs and courses in tribology in universities and polytechnics. Projects in tribology have even found their way into schoolwork.
Tribology Societies and Groups are flourishing in many countries, and their
world organisation,
the International
Tribology Council, provides an international link which strengthens all of them.
3. Economic
savings
In spite of the fact that tribology has been identified as a subject of great
importance,
largely because of its multi-disciplinary
nature embracing physics, chemistry,
metallurgy and engineering, the concept of tribology had
previously received insufficient attention. As a result, development
of design
was retarded, and many hundreds of millions of pounds were lost each year
through
unnecessary
wear, friction
and connected
breakdowns,
wasted
energy etc. The D.E.S. report stated that in the U.K. alone $515000000
(at 1965 values) could be saved, if greater attention were paid to tribology
(Fig. 1). It was this figure of savings that launched tribology on its successful
road. In other words economics, rather than logic or needs lie at the root of
the world-wide recognition
of tribology.
I am sure that a lesson is to be
learnt from this.
Experience over the past 23 years has shown that the estimated savings,
approximately
1% of the GNP, were a significant underestimate.
It is now
28
___-
Reduction
in energy
consumption
through
lower friction
Savings in investment
Reduction
manpower
Savings
in
- -__
in lubncant
costs
Fig. 1. Economic
savings
million at 1965 values).
through
tribology,
as shown
in D.E.S.
Report,
1966,
(in E
materials
science
Once the initial shortcomings relating to lubrication in design and application had been dealt with, it became increasingly
clear that materials
science and technology
ranked equal with design in the reduction of wear of
machinery. This applied particularly in the field of unlubricated wear.
In 1983, an investigation in the F.R.G. estimated a total loss of 38.71
billion DM (~$13 billion) through tribological causes. Unlub~ca~
systems
accounted
for 17.78 billion DM (f6 billion) [7]. However, in the coal and
metallurgical
industries, the cost due to unlubricated
wear of 53% was the
largest single cost component.
In the German Steel Industry, out of a total
of 490 million DM ($163 million) maintenance cost of wear, 260 million DM
($87 million), i.e. 53% was due to unlubricated
wear [S] (Fig. 2). Investigation of wear causes and prevention
of unlubricated
systems revealed that
materials science and technology
was the principal subject area to remedy
the identified economic losses.
Therefore, if as the results of the developments
of the past 20 years, the
subject of tribology were to be divided into its main constituents,
i.e. in its
3
Others
gg3j
Fractllres
CorrosNx
Lubrl<.atcd
llnlubr~catcd
600
Wear
Wear
Fig. 2. Estimated
cost of maintenance
in German Steel Works (1983)
causes of maintenance
(repair) requirements.
(Source - Dr. Deutscher,
input areas, and allowing for a considerable degree of overlap, the division
could be as follows: (a) materials science and technology, 40%; (b) mechanical systems, 30%; (c) lubrication and lubricants, 20%; (d) others, including
condition monitoring, tribo-diagnostics, instrumentation, tribo-information
dissemination (data banks and others), 10%. The definition of mechanical
systems used is that of the 1984 ASME Report of the same title, viz. A
mechanical system can be defined as an interconnection of mechanical and/
or electromechanical components, coordinated and controlled by computational and informational networks (and often humans), which accomplishes
dynamic tasks involving mechanical forces and motions and energy flows
[91.
If these are the input areas, in which future research and development
will have to take place, what are the demand areas, i.e. in the customer
areas of tribology that have to be satisfied by additional knowledge and
application of tribology?
TABLE
Wear coefficients
Lubrication
--
for different
systems
Wear coefficients
system
Hydrodynamic
Squeeze film
Elastohydrodynamic
Boundary
Composite
bearing
Bonded solid films
Unlubricated
_~--
lubrication
IO.13
lo-3
10-9
materials
_ IO_3
10-6 - lo- 8
1om2- 10-7
10-s - 10-7
10-2
10-4
functional
failure can
area which
during the
Tribology
reliability
of the highest
of the many interacting
surfaces
in
The third impetus in this demand area will come from miniaturization
of equipment. Ultimate failure of such miniaturized equipment could well
be due to lack of tribological knowledge. Even if one does not go as far as
considering the tribological problems of a motor car engine of a matchbox
size, there is little doubt that engines, gear boxes and other transmission
eq~pment will be reduced in size. Therefore, whether in celestial or terrestrial areas of operation, re~ability of such highly rated components will be a
principal requirement of advancing technologies. The advance in microelectronics makes this development inevitable, and tribology will play an important role in it.
Fig. 4. Tribology
in mining.
A modern
DOSCO
Roadheading
Machine
(photograph:
Dosco Overseas
Engineering
Ltd.).
To minimize
wear much attention
was paid to the
testing of the wear resistance
of materials.
(Source - The Industrial
Unit of Tribology,
The University
of Leeds, Leeds, U.K.)
tion, braking and similar usages, but where wear beyond a certain rate is
undesirable, or even unacceptable.
There can be little doubt that economic forces compelling tribological
development will be considerable; they will not be limited to conventional
applications, but apply to an even greater extent to the tribology of space
mechanisms.
5.3. Environmental
pressures
The third main demand area will be environmental, under which heading is included preservation and conservation of materials and energy, not for
merely economic purposes, and the need to eliminate unsocial working conditions. A typical example of the beginning of this trend was the refusal of
forging operators, because of the fumes emitted to use the traditionally
accepted and effective graphite-oil parting and lubricating materials. This
led to the development of aqueous dispersions. Thereafter, there was the
refusal by the operators to handle materials that were black e.g. graphite,
6. I. 2. Surace treatments
The tribotechnical aspects of these material developments will be one
of the two principal areas of much future research. The other will be the
surface treatments of materials for the purpose of enh~cing their tribo-
logical characteristics. This is an area which has already seen much research
and development, some yielding spectacular results.
To obtain tribological improvement of surfaces, either the surfaces can
be modified without altering the chemistry, or by chemical or thermo-chemical diffusion treatments, altering the surface chemistry, or by impregnating
with, or adding layers to surfaces, which heading includes low shear strength
materials, such as molybdenum disulphide, graphite and others [17]. Physical vapour disposition (CVD), ion implantation and laser surface modifications are so far the best known techniques of tribological surface treatments.
Surface modifications range from 0.1 I.rrn for ion implantation to a
few microns. Roberts expressed the view that such surface treatments affect
the reliable and predictable performance, and lead to the avoidance of unscheduled downtime, and therefore have clear life-cost implications across
the whole spectrum of industry [lS]. However, he warns that the effective exploitation of the considerable potential benefits of this wideranging
technology by the end user in industry will require a conscious effort of
technological transfer on the part of the scientists engaged in this exciting
and fast developing field of applied science.
6.1.3. Mechanical systems
The availability of materials with vastly improved t~bo~ogi~al properties will require the reassessment of many mechanical systems and designs.
For instance, the availability of lubricating materials operating at 600 C
could lead to a dramatic change of compression ignition and internal com-
11
bustion engine design, and that of tribological low energy loss materials to
new transmission
designs. These two developments
alone could make the
100 plus miles per gallon family ear a feasible reality during the next 15
years.
Whilst in the lubrication
sphere of tribology,
especially the hydrodynamic sphere, there are many formulations,
parameters and models, that
can be used to optimize design, this is not the case in the tribomaterials
sphere. Formulae, quantifiable
design criteria and models are required by
the mechanical engineering designer. There are at present few, if any, that
can convert simple friction and wear theories into actual designs; they must
essentially be evolved.
The tribology of metal cutting and forming is another branch of tribology meriting research and development.
Special attention to this subject has
been given by a number of researchers, especially in seizure tribology
[ 191; more attention is required to remove all the major constraints which
influence the efficiency of metal cutting processes.
Research leading to the identification
of tribological, i.e. force transference causes of tribo-deformation
and damage, and to the establishment
of
adequate
models of frictional
and wear processes is therefore
urgently
needed. Belyi [ZO] suggests that the present unsatisfactory
state of affairs
has led to a situation in which high margins of ignorance often reduce and
even minimize the progress made in areas of tribo-materials
and tribo-technology. It is difficult to disagree with this statement.
6.1.4. Lub~icu~~s and lubricating ~~~er~~s and systems
Fluid lubricants,
capable of operating
at high temperatures
will be
required to match high temperature
structural materials. These lubricants are
unlikely to be based on naturally occurring hydrocarbon
materials. For high
temperature
lubrication,
ethers, fluoro-ether
and polyphenolethers
may
prove to be materials, that could possibly approach the limit of liquid lubrication (Fig. 6).
Gases and vapour
phase lubricants
must not be discounted
as
materials, that can become the lubricants which fulfil the extreme requirements of the previously mentioned demand areas. For low temperature
lubrication, the handling not only of liquid nitrogen, but also fuels like oxygen
and hydrogen in liquid form could be the ultimate process for fluid lubricants.
The use of solid lubricants,
as distinct from lubricant surface treatments, is another development
of considerable promise, but will require new
lubrication
and application
systems. It is however an area, where research
and development
can, in the not too distant future, reach the stage of producing quantifiable and repeatable results.
Magnetic and electro-ma~etic
lubrication
systems are already being
used, where extremely low friction is required. Their future development
can
confidently
be predicted not only in the area of bearings [ 211, but also in
that of fluid seals [22].
12
?=i
100
I__
-.
I_
Miners1
..--.
Synlhcfic
Hydrocnrhon
_. 1
Ester
-_A.
-I ___L
FlUOK+
Poly(phenyl
ether
ether)
instrumentation,
13
Fig. 7. Tribo-monitoring. A rotary particle depositor, developed by the Swansea Tribology Centre, deposits wear debris for subsequent analysis by metallographic techniques.
(Source - Swansea Tribology Centre).
are also used, their advantages being: (a) fast response times, (b) very low
energy requirements,
(c) the availability of a well-developed
signal analysis
theory and highly sensitive equipment. Their use, however, is at present in
the main confined to liquid and semi-solid lubricated mechanisms.
There exists a large and unfulfilled need in the area of in-line condition
monitoring in unlubricated
or solid lubricated tribological conditions. Beginnings have been made on certain industrial, automotive and nuclear applications. However, in general, it is an area which requires intensive research and
development
during the next decade.
6.3. Tribo-information
The field of tribo-information
has developed only during the past 10 15 years as an independent
branch of technology transfer. More than 10 000
papers and articles on tribology are now published annually. Data banks have
been created for quick reference, that of the Federal German Materials Testing Institute
(BAM) being the most advanced and comprehensive
in the
western world [ 241.
Probably the most advanced and potentially
valuable scheme is the A
Computerised
Tribology
Information
System (ACTIS), being developed in
the U.S. under the chairmanship
of Dr. S. Hsu, director of ceramics, of the
U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology
(formerly the National
Bureau of Standards).
Centralised,
comprehensive
tribology
information
system, PC - based and user-friendly,
its aim is to facilitate &bo-technology
transfer
to industry,
to promote
cross-disciplinary
communication
and
enhance the state of research. ACTIS will comprise DATA bases on six ele-
ments: (1) numerical data; (2) design codes; (3) bibliographic; (4) newsletter;
(5) research in progress; and (6) product literature. The objectives of ACTIS
are to provide: (a) quick, economic, direct access, up to date tribological
data on materials; (b) best judgement values by experts; (c) design codes in
conjunction
with critical data. By the use of ACTIS it is aimed to: (1)
elevate the state-of-the-art
of tribology; (2) avoid unnecessary research; (3)
facilitate new product development;
(4) facilitate the use of triboligical data
by non-tribologists
and thereby avoid catastrophies
and save materials and
energy.
The pro~amme
of ACTIS, which is intended to be wholly international, as indeed is tribology,
is planned in three phases. The planning
phase 1 is now complete. Ultimately the international
self-supporting
nonprofit organisation and its work will cover these aspects.
7. Spin-off
areas of tribological
developments
15
Fig. 8.
pended
original
cording
operate
Heart valve. Artificial heart valve, pumping corrosive liquid containing poorly suscrystals (blood) at a continuous rate of 37 million operations per annum. The
design led to flap-hinge failure after relatively short periods. After redesign acto best tribo-material and mechanical principles, these non-return valves can now
satisfactorily in excess of 15 years. (Source - National Centre of Tribology).
Fig. 9. Medical tribology. The original design of Charnleys hip joint had a life expectancy
of about 3 years. The tribologically redesigned hip joints can be guaranteed to have a 25
year useful wear life. (SourceBio-Engineering Group for the study of Human Joints,
Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Leeds, Leeds, U.K.).
8. Conclusion
Tribology is not an independent
subject. It is unlikely that the acquisition of new tribological knowledge alone will create new technologies.
However, the absence of the required knowledge of tribology can act as a severe
brake in the development
of new technologies,
and indeed has already done
so.
In our age of technologically
rapid development
throughout
the world,
tribology can therefore
be regarded as an enabling technology
not only of
strategic, but of strategically crucial importance.
For the future of tribology, the important and yet unanswered question
must be whether developments
in the materials science and technology
areas have been so rapid, that they have outstripped the mechanical engineering development
of tribology. If this is so, the development
of tribology has
become unbalanced. What has to be done to rectify any such imbalance and
thereby remove the brake on technological
developments
and practices?
I hope that during these next four days of Eurotrib 89, the lecturers
may provide some pointers as to the direction in which we tribologists shall
have to move. The papers to be presented are indeed of a high standard. I am
convinced that the discussions, resulting from them, will equal if not surpass
that standard.
References
1 Lubrication
(tribology)
education
and research, Jest Rep., Department
of Education
and Science, HMSO, London.
1966. p. 4.
2 R. W. Burchfield
(ed.), A supplement
to the Oxford English Dictionary,
Vol. 4,
Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1986.
(Code BMFT-FB-T7636),
Federal Ministry for
3 Research Rep. (T7636)
Tribologie
Research and Technology,
1976.
4 A Strategy
for Tribology
in Canada (NRCC 16536),
National
Research
Council,
Canada, 1986, p. 39.
5 An investigation
on the application
of tribology
in China, Rep. by the Tribology
Institution of the Chinese Mechanical Engineering Society, September, 1986, Beijing.
6 Strategy
for energy conservation
through
tribology,
ASME, New York 1977 and
1981.
7 K. Richter
and J. Wiedemeyer,
Nichtgeschmierte
St.udie Tribologie,
Institute of Materials Research,
Bauteile,
Cologne,
1st Fortschreibung
F.R.G.
1985, p. 42.
der
17
8 0. Deutscher,
9
10
II
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