Tribology and Lubrication
“He who greases well, drives well.”
Tribology is the study of friction, wear, and lubrication of moving surfaces. Friction causes wear and is also a source of losses in a system. Wear leads to such things as undesired clearances, vibrations, leakage, and other inefficiencies. Correct lubrication defeats these things. It is easy to see that Tribology is a science critical to the modern world.
Tribology is a challenging field of study because it often involves the cross disciplines of mechanics and fluid dynamics (not to mention heat transfer and material science). In the past, engineers tuned lubrication systems through trial and error. With modern machines which push the envelope of efficiency, it is necessary to model and analyze the different interacting phenomena.
The RoMaDyC Center conducts research in Tribology and Lubrication.