Overview
The tribologist's expertise is indispensable for selecting material combinations and suitable lubricants for demanding performance and reliability requirements. Surfaces play a central role in tribology, both in terms of their chemical and physical properties. The engineering of surfaces and lubricants to cater for evermore demanding applications represents the frontier of present-day tribology research.
- Research team
- QUT
- Organisational unit
- Lead unit Faculty of Built Environment and Engineering
Professor Doug Hargreaves
Dr Dennis De PellegrinDetails
Tribology deals with all aspects of friction, lubrication and wear. It is an important area of mechanical engineering as virtually all machines incorporate elements whose operation is governed by tribological principles.
Tribology and surface engineering
The tribologist's expertise is indispensible for selecting material combinations and suitable lubricants for demanding performance and reliability requirements. Surfaces play a central role in tribology, both in terms of their chemical and physical properties. The engineering of surfaces and lubricants to cater for evermore demanding applications represents the frontier of present-day tribology research.
Education
QUT is committed to tribology education and research in the following areas:
- Surface measurement and characterization
- Measurement of material and lubricant properties
- Contact mechanics and wear
- Fluid film lubrication.
Projects
Projects in progress or recently completed include:
- Rail contact mechanics
- Hydroelectric turbine bearing design
- Frictional studies of nano-materials and lubricants
Project equipment
Some of the equipment available is:
- Scanning electron microscopy
- UMIS ultra micro indenter
- Talysurf surface topography measurement
- Metallography
- Wear test machines
- Tensile test machines
- Vickers and Rockwell hardness testing
