Projects / Programmes
January 1, 2009
- December 31, 2014
| Code |
Science |
Field |
Subfield |
| 2.11.00 |
Engineering sciences and technologies |
Mechanical design |
|
| 2.04.00 |
Engineering sciences and technologies |
Materials science and technology |
|
| 2.10.00 |
Engineering sciences and technologies |
Manufacturing technologies and systems |
|
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| T210 |
Technological sciences |
Mechanical engineering, hydraulics, vacuum technology, vibration and acoustic engineering |
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| 2.11 |
Engineering and Technology |
Other engineering and technologies |
Friction, wear, lubrication, lubricants, bio-lubricants, contact problems, advanced materials, hard coatings, composites, bio-ceramics, technical diagnostics, surface engineering, surface layers, tribochemistry, nanotribology, nanotechnology, design, product development, maintenance, ecology
Researchers (26)
Organisations (1)
Abstract
Tribology is an interdisciplinary science dealing with friction, wear and lubrication of component surfaces in the tribological contact, which is in the relative motion. Contact surfaces in the tribological contact may have the different form, topography and material characteristics. The space between contact surfaces is filled up with lubricant, air or other material. Therefore, beside the contact surfaces, the intermediate material with its physical-chemical characteristics may also be considered as a constructive component. The study of problems in the tribology system requires the knowledge of physics, mechanic, materials, chemistry and design. Progressive wear of contact surfaces leads to the reduction of durability and operation reliability. Moreover, the higher are also material losses, maintenance costs and energy consumption. At the worst, the unexpected or permanently fracture of the machine components may occurred, resulted in the production downtime and related costs. Machines and equipment are generally lubricated with mineral based lubricants derived from crude oil, which have limited lifetime and are dangerous to the environment. Unsuitable operation and storage of lubricants, together with the sudden leakage of the lubricants due to the unexpected accidents, directly or indirectly represent a threat for the lives of people, animals and plants.
Reducing friction and wear and ecological prevention is based on the research activities in all segments of the tribological system. Research of materials will be oriented to the advanced materials as are the global trends. Contemporary research areas include the research of: composite materials for high temperatures, wear resistance of engineering ceramics and bio-compatible ceramics, surface characterization, hard coatings, especially nano-composite and nano-layer coatings, inert coatings and hard carbon based bio-compatible coatings. The lubrication of contact surfaces will be more ecological with the minor impact on the environment and at the same time adapted to the advanced materials recently developed (ceramics, carbon based hard coatings, etc.). An example is the use of water in the case of ceramics lubrication and the development of the novel biodegradable lubricants and esters, adapted to the advanced non-ferrous materials and surfaces.
To understand the wear and lubrication principles by the application of the advanced materials it is necessary to expand the research of mechanical and tribological material properties from macro and micro-scale level to the level of the surface layers on nano-size level, means to the nanotribology. The surface quality improve is based on the application of surfactants, coatings and layers, which will enable the use of these materials in real applications. The results, as the world trends, indicate so termed "intelligent" surfaces, which will be capable to adapt for the different operating conditions and environment.
Significance for science
The Programme Group studied and solved several very important scientific problems and satisfied several key industrial needs in our field. Several innovative methods were used, which are of great importance for the development of science and technology and are crucially needed today. Many of the solutions are completely new and represent a breakthrough in several scientific fields. We were very active in the field of nanotribology (and general tribology). Our main focus was to increase the efficiency of sliding systems by research and development of green, environmentally-friendly lubrication technologies, which is one of the main trends in modern technology. Our research in this respect was focused on nano-structured materials, friction on nano level and nano lubrication films, which are essential for the development of many mechanical components and system. We were the first to employ neutron reflectometry for a detailed characterization of organic surface nanofilms on DLC surfaces. Based on this knowledge we will be able to implement for the first time a dedicated tribotester into the neutron beam facility for the sub-nanoscale resolution adsorption investigation under simultaneous tribological conditions to indisputably validate the existence of novel green lubrication technology. Also, by studying surface-liquid interactions we explained some controversies of the past and for the first time revealed indisputable correlation between surface energy, wetting, slip and friction. Second research field was contact and surface engineering. Part of our research was focused to develop reliable surface coatings with high load-carrying capacity on one side, and lubricating fluids which are environmentally adapted and capable of forming nano-micro lubricating films in the contact. In this field, we have become one of the leading groups in the world. Good example is a surface films conference hosted in Spain in 2009, where we were co-organizer and responsible for the technical program. We also showed for the first time that DLC coatings can be very effectively lubricated with the use of solid lubricant nanoparticles. Our activities were also in surface texturing, with main focus on lubricant quantity reduction. In this field we are one of the leading research institutes beside Israel. We have introduced a model for fluid flow and hydrodynamic lubrication of textured surfaces, and optimized texturing parameters for increased reliability of systems with reduced lubrication. We acquired positive scientific and applied results, especially on account of cooperation with different laboratories at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering. Another very important activity was related to research of polymer materials for tribological applications – we explained several topographic phenomena and wear mechanisms. To highlight the importance of scientific research of polymers, we also organized Polytrib conference in 2014, the first international conference on polymer tribology, where over 70 representatives from international research institutes and industry exchanged their knowledge and experiences. In the field of power hydraulics we continued with improvements in water hydraulic components, setting the trends of modern science towards environmentally-friendly technology. We are developing a device for automatic diagnosis of hydraulic motors and a universal analyser and remover of water from hydraulic oil, which is deriving from the needs of Slovenian and international industry. The fourth field is diagnostics, mainly condition monitoring of tribological contacts in different mechanical systems. In the past period, we obtained scientific and applicative results based on the requirements of the industry. We are developing a model for condition based maintenance, which will be introduced in the Slovenian industry. We believe that above mentioned fields are of big interest for progress of science and application of this knowledge in industry.
Significance for the country
Plan of the Programme group Tribology was consistent with national and international strategies, legislations and international protocols in terms of energy and raw material saving, introducing clean and renewable energy, diminish waste materials and production of greenhouse emissions and hazardous materials. Moreover, we targeted in reducing energy due to friction losses, reducing wear, increase durability and so increasing the efficiency of the industrial assets. Therefore, the content itself was inherently very important for the economy and society. 1. The plan of the Programme group was in line with Kyoto protocol and EC emission legislation and affected all industrial sectors. It is more than obvious that pollution with greenhouse emissions and hazardous materials has tremendous effect on global warming, climate changes, health and thus all societal systems. It represents one of the paramount world-wide needs for major global changes and massively affects the society, health, education, technology and energy resources. 2. The Programme group in the period between 2009 and 2014 closely collaborated with numerous academic and industrial (national and international) partners, which is thus in agreement with the national priorities and Lisbon strategy. 3. The group was actively involved in the pedagogical work on the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Expansion of the interdisciplinary knowledge at the top-most level positively influenced the transfer of that knowledge to students, and subsequently to general public and industry. 4. All new systems which were investigated and the rest of research brought significant innovations in various fields having immense potential markets and applications. This had a significant impact on the competitive advantage of the collaborating industrial partners. 5. In Slovenia there are some highly developed industrial sectors with several successful international companies, such as in automotive and household appliance industry (Kolektor, Hidria, Cimos, Iskra Mehanizmi, Iskra Avtoelektrika, Gorenje, Domel,...). Our close collaboration with most of these companies and their strong inter-relations mean that success of one company affects also the success of the other and this has a much broader and important societal impact in Slovenia. 6. The above benefits are not only financial, but also indirect, through the improved reputation of their brand names. With important contribution to constant development in these companies, their world leading positions and reputation would stand out and become more pronounced and placed on even stronger grounds. This allows new projects, new costumers, new development, and thus constant growth on a long run. This is extremely important in global competition where smaller players disappear and only large-scale producers with strong partners survive the tremendous competition of companies from Asia. This is of paramount importance for future development of Slovenian and European companies that will take part of this development. As evident, the plan of the Programme group was broad in terms of societal and economic impacts. The most important socio-economic benefits could be summarized as: a) reduction of energy losses and pollution; b) reducing wear and thus raw materials and other resources; c) increased reliability, quality and durability of mechanical systems; d) increased productivity e) long term competitiveness and growth, employment stability f) reduced maintenance and increased machinery life-cycles g) reduced overall lifecycle emissions h) high-quality products and novel enabling technologies, i) customer satisfaction.
Most important scientific results
Annual report
2009,
2010,
2011,
2012,
2013,
final report,
complete report on dLib.si
Most important socioeconomically and culturally relevant results
Annual report
2009,
2010,
2011,
2012,
2013,
final report,
complete report on dLib.si
