Tribology: selected projects

In-situ tribological wear measurement at high temperature (800°C) and high relative humidity (80%)

Today’s battle for increasing performance and efficiency in engines leads to constantly increasing operation temperatures. As a result the materials used in these systems need to be adapted to be able to perform at higher temperatures and under different atmospheres.
In order to test the properties of such coatings at high temperature as well as high relative humidity, a new unique multifunctional tribometre to measure wear rates and friction coefficients simultaneously at high temperatures and high relative humidity is built by industrial partners. This tribometre will enable in-situ measurements thanks to an incorporated optical device capable of characterizing wear during experiments.

 

Selected publications

  • Deshpande P., Pandiyan V., Meylan B., and  Wasmer K., "Acoustic Emission and Machine Learning Based Classification of Wear Generated Using a Pin-On-Disc Tribometer Equipped with a Digital Holographic Microscope", Wear, Vol. XXX-XX, pp: XX-XX, 2021,
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wear.2021.203622

  • Meylan B., Ciani D., Zhang B., Cuche E., and Wasmer K., “A New Ball-On-Disk Vacuum Tribometer With In Situ Measurement of the Wear Track by Digital Holographic Microscopy”, Surface Topography: Metrology and Properties, Vol. 5, paper ID: 044004, 2017,
    https://doi.org/10.1088/2051-672X/aa854a

  • Meylan B, Dogan P., Sage D., and Wasmer K., “A Simple, Fast and Low-Cost Method for In Situ Monitoring of Topographical Changes and Wear Rate of a Complex Tribo-System Under Mixed Lubrication”, Wear, Vol. 364-365, pp: 22-30, 2016.
    http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.wear.2016.06.006

 

Tribological optimization increase in service components lifetime by laser surface texturing
There is an increasing need for tribo-systems that can withstand demanding sliding contact conditions (e.g. high loads, sliding speeds and temperatures) while simultaneously keeping friction and wear rate at a low level. A promising solution is surface texturing which has been successfully used in many applications to reduce friction and improve the tribological performance. For this purpose, Empa is using state-of-the-art laser texturing to develop a tribologically-optimized surface.
Research at Empa focused on industrial texturing of component to reduce wear and increase the component lifetime.
The two major achievements were (a) a fundamental understanding of the effect of texturing on friction, wear, failure mechanisms and component lifetime, and (b) the development of semi-empirical models for predicting the coefficient of friction and the component lifetime base on the surface texture.

 

Selected publications

  • Meylan B., Saeidi F., and Wasmer K., “Effect of Surface Texturing on Cast Iron Reciprocating Against Steel Under Cyclic Loading in Boundary and Mixed Lubrication Conditions”, Lubricants, Special Issue Improvement of Friction and Wear by Laser Surface Texturing, Vol. 6, Issue 1, paper ID: 2, 2018,
    https://doi.org/10.3390/lubricants6010002

  • Meylan B, Dogan P., Sage D., and Wasmer K., “A Simple, Fast and Low-Cost Method for In Situ Monitoring of Topographical Changes and Wear Rate of a Complex Tribo-System Under Mixed Lubrication”, Wear, Vol. 364-365, pp: 22-30, 2016.
    http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.wear.2016.06.006

  • Saeidi F., Taylor A.A., Meylan B., Hoffmann P., and Wasmer K., “Effects of Laser Surface Texturing on the Wear and Failure Mechanism of Grey Cast Iron Reciprocating Against Steel Under Starved Lubrication Conditions”, Wear, Vol. 386-387, pp: 29-38, 2017,
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wear.2017.05.015

  • Saeidi F., Taylor A.A., Meylan B., Hoffmann P., and Wasmer K., “Origin of Scuffing in Grey Cast Iron-Steel Tribo-System”, Materials and Design, Vol. 116, pp: 622-630, 2017,
    http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.matdes.2016.12.044

  • Saeidi F., Meylan B., Hoffmann P. and Wasmer K., “Effect of Surface Texturing on Cast Iron Reciprocating Against Steel Under Starved Lubrication Conditions: A Parametric Study”, Wear, Vol. 348-349, pp: 17-26, 2016,
    http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.wear.2015.10.020