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What are the Most Recent Advances in
Tribology?
By Brett Smith, B.A. May 18 2021
Image Credit: mariolav/Shutterstock.com
Lately, tribology research has expanded swiftly with regards to both range and
depth.
As a very multidisciplinary field, tribology typically has developments that distribute
across a variety of disciplines. A few of the more significant recent developments are in
the areas of lubrication, biotribology, high temperature tribology and computer
simulations.
Lubrication
One of the more exciting areas of lubrication research is the growing area of
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What are the Most Recent Advances in Tribology?
One of the more exciting areas of lubrication research is the growing area of
superlubricity, which is described as a system of motion involving little to no rubbing.
Massively lowering the friction coefficient, superlubricity materials and methods greatly
decrease the frictionrelated effects of wear and noise. One of the many most promising
superlubricity materials right now is diamondlike carbon (DLC) film. This material has
drawn intense research interest within the tribology research community. Key
developments related to DLC film have included the development of several new
lubricants.
Because of their weak interlayer connection, graphene and similar twodimensional
materials have been the driving force behind a number of recent superlubricity research
efforts. Recent developments have achieved superlubricity in many different systems and
length scales, in the process exposing a number of new physical mechanisms for the
phenomenon.
Biotribology
Biotribology refers to the use of tribology concepts in biological scenarios. Recent
developments have ranged from exposing the underlying tribology mechanisms of
various organs to applications related to medical treatments.
The biggest percentage of recent studies in biotribology has been related to joint
tribology, with both natural and artificial joint systems getting substantial attention.
Artificial joint research has primarily focused on the advancement of the wear resistance
methods used in clinical settings, including metallic, polymeric and ceramic joint systems.
Recent developments have also included research on novel biomimetic materials for joint
implants.
While some recent research has shown
What Tribometers are on
surface coatings for metallic joints can
the Market?
enhance wear resistance, some coatings have
also been shown to reduce the discharge of
metallic ions, which is increasingly being seen
as a problem related to metallic biomaterials.
For artificial joints, a major recent focus has also been preclinical wear testing, with a
particular emphasis on creating more authentic and predictive experimental setups.
Research has been quite focused on investigating hard metalonmetal contacts.
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What are the Most Recent Advances in Tribology?
Oral tribology has also had a number of developments, and many developments have
shared common threads with joint tribology. For example, there has been a number of
studies on the importance of corrosion in both joint implants and dental implants.
Research has also found the lubricating mechanisms in soft tissues may be similar in
both joint and oral systems.
In skin tribology, many recent studies have focused on the tactile perception and friction
of the skin. With the tribology of skin being very complex, a multidisciplinary approach
was needed to investigate skin at multiple scales in recent research.
Finally, the use of the engineering principles has expanded significantly in tribology
research, extending all the way down to the cellular level.
High Temperature Tribology
High temperature tribology is pertinent in a number of applications, including in
aerospace, automotive and metalworking processes. High temperature tribology is
typically a factor during the forceful interaction of two moving, contacting solid surfaces,
due to the inherent pressure and friction.
High temperature tribological systems are quite complex, with surface and nearsurface
factors undergoing major shifts when subjected to high temperatures.
The main thrust of present research has been in creating materials and surface solutions
for managing wear and friction at high temperatures, which covers many different
applications, opportunities, demands and challenges.
A lot of studies related to the effect of high working temperature on wear and friction have
been in the industrial context of press hardening and hot forming areas. The principal
basis for this is the demand for lightweight materials to lower fuel consumption in various
vehicle types. Researchers have been particularly focused on ultrahighstrength
aluminum alloys and boron steel.
Automobiles have many intricate structural and safety parts made of lightweight materials
that are challenging to fabricate with traditional methods at room temperatures. During
high temperature forming processes, interactions between tools and materials include
complex tribological systems. Understanding wear and friction phenomena in this setting
are vital to the ongoing development of lightweight vehicle components, longevity of
costly forming tools and general productivity in the automotive industry.
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What are the Most Recent Advances in Tribology?
Computer and Numerical Simulations
Recently, molecular dynamics simulations and the firstprinciple calculations that
compute atomic relationships via essential quantum mechanics equations have become
major new tools for tribology simulations. One recent major focus has been the molecular
interactions at surface interfaces, such as the boundary slippage that occurs in lubricant
rheology.
While molecular dynamic simulations and firstprinciple computations are the fastest
growing area in tribology simulations, the present computing capability and time scales of
simulations can limit complex simulations.
Many recent efforts have looked to integrate multifactorial issues into a singular
sophisticated model in order to analyze many different factors simultaneously. While
multifactorial simulations are capable of presenting quite realistic results, the associated
computational costs can rise rapidly. However, computer simulations have broad
applications for forecasting the wear of various systems, including in cutting tools,
bearings and artificial joints.
References and Further Reading
Meng, Y. et al. A review of recent advances in tribology. Friction. [Online] Available at:
https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s4054402003672.pdf
Tribonet. So, what is superlubricity? [Online] Available at: https://www.tribonet.org/so
whatisitsuperlubricity/
Centre for Industrial Rheology. Tribology Testing Services. [Online] Available at:
https://www.rheologylab.com/services/tribologytesting/
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Written by
Brett Smith
Brett Smith is an American freelance writer with a bachelor’s degree in journalism from
Buffalo State College and has 8 years of experience working in a professional laboratory.
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