MEC446: Fundamentals and Applications of Tribology

Tribology is everywhere! Any engineering component that moves will have friction, develop wear and often be lubricated. The UK economy loses £24bn every year because of problems with friction, wear and lubrication. Having a good understanding of tribology in the design process is essential for ensuring higher component performance and gaining economic savings.

Dr Kate Tomlinson, Module Lead

Module Description
Many practicing engineers use tribology regularly without a true understanding of its importance and its role in engineering design. This module introduces fundamental science that explains surface phenomena of wear, friction and lubrication. Students learn through industrial case studies, techniques to assess a range of engineering and machine contacts, from bearings to hip joints and banana skins! Theoretical and practical techniques will cover contact mechanics, friction, wear and lubricant films in hydrodynamic and elasto-hydrodynamic lubrication regimes. Students will learn to evaluate failure mechanisms and compare key design features that can be used to diagnose failure as well as improve design. 

Required Prior Knowledge
No pre-requisites - although you should be aware that there will be some mathematical concepts requiring derivations.

Teaching Methods
•    Lectures
•    Tutorials
•    Independent learning

Assessment Methods
•    25% Coursework: Looking at wear and ways to mitigate it.
•    75% Exam: Covering wear, friction and lubrication.

Module Aims
• Introduce the fundamentals of friction and its relevance in component design and surface engineering.
• Introduce key tribological principles related to wear, methods for mitigation and underpinning mathematical concepts.
• Introduce the theory of contact mechanics and evaluate its impact on the performance of components.
• Develop the ability to apply lubrication science to engineering components.
• To enable student to apply the above techniques to a range of engineering components, evaluate failure mechanisms and compare key design features that improve performance
• Develop solutions to tribological industrial design problems through the application of tribological analysis.