BMKM 2323: Basic Tribology

Coordinated by: Dr. Muhammad Ilman Hakimi Chua bin Abdullah

▪ Know the history of tribology

▪ Identify the importance of tribology

▪ Describe the tribological phenomena

▪ Identify factors that influence tribological phenomena

TRIBOLOGY IS THE “OLOGY” OR SCIENCE OF “TRIBEIN”. THE
WORD COMES FROM THE SAME GREEK ROOT AS
“TRIBULATION”. A FAITHFUL TRANSLATION DEFINES
TRIBOLOGY AS THE STUDY OF RUBBING OR SLIDING. THE
MODERN AND BROADEST MEANING IS THE STUDY OF
FRICTION, LUBRICATION AND WEAR.

(Ludema, K.C., 1996, Friction, Wear, Lubrication: A Textbook in Tribology)

▪ Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)) can be named as the father of

modern tribology.

▪ studied many of tribological subtopics such as: friction, wear,

bearing materials, plain bearings, lubrication systems, gears,

screw-jacks, and rolling-element bearings
▪ Other pioneers in tribology are also Guillaume Amontons

(1663-1705), John Theophilius Desanguliers (1683-1744),

Leonard Euler (1707-1783), and Charles-Augustin Coulomb
(1736-1806).

▪ These pioneers brought tribology to a standard, and its laws

still apply to many engineering problems today.

▪ Some of their findings are summarized in the following three laws:

1. The force of friction always opposes motion and is directly

proportional to the applied load. (Amontons 1st Law)

2. The force of friction is independent of the apparent area of

contact. (Amontons 2nd Law)
▪ Some of their findings are summarized in the following three laws:

▪ Kinetic friction is independent of the sliding velocity. (Coulomb's Law)

▪ These three laws were attributed to dry friction only and

mathematiccally expresses by

𝐹 = 𝜇N

▪ F = Force of limiting friction

▪ N = normal reaction (which equals incumbent load W

▪ 𝜇 = coefficient of friction
▪ Nikolai Pavlovich Petrov and Osborne Reynolds around 1880

recognized the hydrodynamic nature of lubrication, and introduced

a theory of fluid-film lubrication.

▪ Still today, Reynolds' steady state equation of fluid film lubrication

ѵη
▪𝐹∝ ѵ: Nu, η : Eta
𝐷

▪ is valid for hydrodynamic lubrication of thick films (> μm) where the

frictional (drag) force,

▪ F, is proportional to both the sliding velocity, ѵ, and the bulk fluid

viscosity η, and inversely proportional to the film lubricant

thickness, D.
❑ To create an awareness of the importance of tribology in
design and selection of machine elements.

❑ Basic concepts of tribology would be useful in choosing

and designing various tribological machine elements
like bearings, gears, cams and constant velocity joints.
❑All of these components have two surfaces which come into

contact, support a load, and move with respect to each other.

❑Sometimes it is desirable to have low friction, to save energy, or

high friction, as in the case of brakes. Usually we don't want the

components to wear so they are lubricated.
Surfaces may look smooth, but on a microscopic scale
they are rough. When two surfaces are pressed together,
contact is made at the peaks of the roughness or
asperities. The real area of contact can be much less
than the apparent or nominal area. At the points of
intimate contact, adhesion, or even local welding, can
take place. If we want to slide one surface over the other
then we have to apply a force to break those junctions.
The friction force is the resistance encountered when
one body moves relative to another body with which it is
in contact. The static friction force is how hard you have
to push something to make it move, whilst the dynamic
friction force is how hard you push to keep it moving.
The ratio of the frictional force F to the normal force N is
called the coefficient of friction.

Usually we want low friction (in a car engine

for example) so we do not waste excessive
energy getting it moving. But in same case we
need high friction, in brakes for example.
Friction is also important for car tires to grip
N
the road and between shoes and the ground
for walking.
▪ Amontons and later Coulomb accepted a frictional

model in which the rough contacting surfaces were

wedgws in contact and relative motion (sliding)
required lifting (or increasing the separation) of the
surfaces.

▪ This answered why rough surfaces offer greater friction.

N
If we put a layer of oil between the surfaces, then we can separate
them and easily slide one over the other with reduced friction and
wear. Mineral oils are the most common lubricants, but other low
shear strength materials are also used; for graphite, PTFE, and soft
metals like lead or gold.

The selection of the best lubricant and understanding the

mechanism by which it acts to separate surfaces in a bearing or
other machine component is a major area for study in tribology.
If one surface is slid over another then the asperities come into
contact and there is a possibility that wear can occur. The
breaking of all the little junction can cause material removal
(called adhesive wear). Or the asperities of a hard surface can
plough grooves in a soft surface (called abrasive wear).

Wear is usually unwelcome; it leads to increased clearances

between moving components, increased mechanical loading
and maybe even fatigue. But in grinding and polishing process
the generation of high wear rates is desirable.
As well as adhesive and abrasive wear, there are other
mechanisms whereby material can be removed from a
surface. Erosive wear occurs when particles (or even water
droplet) strike a surface and break off a bit of the material.
Hard particles can become trapped in contacts and cause
material to be removed from one or both of the surfaces. One
of the main reasons for frequent change of car engine oil is
that it becomes contaminated with hard debris particles that
can wear out the engine components.
The design of rolling bearings and gears is such that the load is supported on a
small area. This leads to high stresses (about the highest stresses we find in any
branch of engineering) over small areas of the components. This can cause high
friction, wear, and contact fatigue. Contact mechanics is therefore an important
part of tribology.

The analysis of contact stress is

frequently difficult. Simple
component geometries can be
analyzed using hand
calculations. More complex
component shapes frequently
require analysis by numerical
methods.
Early civilizations developed quite sophisticated tribological devices
such as potter’s wheels, door hinges and wheeled carriages. The
carvings on the tomb at Saqqara shows an Eygptian tribologist
bending down to lubricate the sled that carries a statue of Ti
(c. 2400 BC).
Military engineers rose to prominence in the days of the Roman empire
by devising both war machinery and methods of fortification, using
tribological principles. War ships (c. 50 AD) recovered from Lake Nemi
near Rome, contain bronze balls and rollers used to support rotating
platforms.
It was the renaissance engineer-artist, Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519),
celebrated engineer, painter, and sculptor, who discovered that the
tangential force of friction between moving solid bodies is proportional
to the normal force. His notebooks show many designs for moving
parts and machines that show a remarkable similarity to those in use
today.
Several of the innovative designs behind John Harrison's (1693-1776)
marine chronometers where based on a tribological understanding of
the moving parts. He designed and built clocks that required no
lubrication. The properties of oil could not be kept constant over long
periods of time or with climate changes. So, the removal of the
requirement for lubrication allowed the clocks to remain accurate over
sea journeys lasting many months.
The coming of the computer age has provided new challenges for
tribologists. The interface between the reading head and the magnetic
disk in a computer hard disk requires careful design and lubrication to
minimize friction and reduce the likelihood of disk crashes and damage.
The disclosed thin film diamond- (a) (b)
Normal
like carbon (DLC) coatings for fuel load, Fz

Camshaft
injector components such as fuel DLC coating
Separation during
injector needles (was patented on Bucket half of cycle

Upward and downward

April, 2004) are particularly useful
in highly loaded, marginally

motion
Valve spring

lubricated fuel injection system Spring forces

applications where component

wear (both sliding and impact type) Head Valve guide

are typically encountered. The thin Valve-seat Valve-stem

film minimized abrasive and

adhesive wear.
In order to protect the top surface Spring

of bucket from continuous wear

due to the cyclic contacts with the DLC coating
Normal

Upward/downward
camshaft, DLC coatings can load, Fz

motion
potentially be used to provide a
low friction and low wear surface
Plunger
to the upper face of the bucket.

fuel fuel
Seat