Green Tribology :

Fundamentals, Issues and

Challenges
 Tribology
• Tribology (from the Greek word ‘‘tribo’’ meaning ‘‘to rub’’) is
defined as the branch of science and technology concerned
with interacting surfaces in relative motion and with
associated matters.
• Typical tribological studies cover friction, wear, lubrication,
and adhesion and involve the efforts of mechanical engineers,
material scientists, chemists, and physicists.
• The study focuses on nanotribology, biotribology, the
tribology of magnetic storage devices and micro/nanoelectro-
mechanical systems (MEMS/NEMS), and adhesive contact.
• Few researchers have reported the need for ecological or
‘‘green’’ tribology.
Cont…

Fig : Versatile and interdisciplinary nature of tribology.

Cont..

Fig : Aim of Tribology.

 Industrial applications
• Metal forming
• M/c tool transmission system
• Engine pistons and rings
• Vehicle Sliding surfaces (shaft,
bearings, gears,etc……)
• Gas turbine engines
• Rail roads
• Magnetic storage device.
• Various types of coatings over
solid metallic and non-metallic
bodies
and in many others components
and devices….
And by the latest it has found application
over
.Microtribology of Solid Lubricant
Coatings for
MEMS( Microelectromechanical
systems)
.Nanoscratching which Determines the
Functional Width of Interfaces
.Nanoindentation of Tribological Coating
on Steel
.Full Nanomechanical Characterization of
Ultra-Thin Films 
.Nanoindentation of DLC(Diamond like
carbon) Coatings
.Depth Profiling (Techniques for Depth
Profling of Materials)
 Friction, Wear and Lubrication
Wear is the damaging, gradual
removal or deformation of
material at solid surfaces. Causes
of wear can be mechanical or
chemical.

Friction is the force resisting the relative

motion of solid surfaces, fluid layers,
and material elements sliding against
each other.

Lubrication is the process or technique

of using a lubricant to
reduce friction and/or wear in a contact
between two surfaces
 Types of wear

Erosive Wear

Oxidative wear Corrosive wear

Cont…
• The new concept of ‘‘green tribology’’ has been defined as ‘‘the
science and technology of the tribological aspects of ecological
balance and of environmental and biological impacts.
• The specific field of green or environment-friendly tribology
emphasizes the aspects of interacting surfaces in relative
motion, which are of importance for energy or environmental
sustainability or which have impact upon today’s environment.
• It includes tribological technology that mimics living nature
(biomimetic surfaces) and thus is expected to be environment
friendly, the control of friction and wear that is of importance
for energy conservation and conversion.
Cont..

Fig: The paradigm of green tribology: renewable energy (represented by a

wind turbine), biomimetic surfaces Geeko feet.
 Classification of Green Tribology
Green tribology can be viewed in the broader context of two other
‘green’ areas: green engineering and green chemistry.
• Green engineering consists of the design, commercialization and
use of processes and products that are technically and
economically feasible while minimizing pollution, risk to human
health and the environment.
• Green chemistry, also known as sustainable chemistry, which is
defined as ‘‘the design of chemical products and processes that
reduce or eliminate the use or generation of hazardous substances.
• The focus of green chemistry is on minimizing the hazard and
maximizing the efficiency of any chemical choice. It is distinct from
environmental chemistry which focuses on chemical phenomena in
the environment.
 Principles of Green Tribology

1) Minimization of heat and energy dissipation.

2) Minimization of wear.
3) Reduction or complete elimination of lubrication and self-
lubrication.
4) Natural lubrication.
5) Biodegradable lubrication.
6) Sustainable chemistry and green engineering principles.
Cont..

7. Biomimetic approach should be used.

8. Surface texturing should be used to control surface properties.

9. Environmental implications of coatings

10. Design for degradation of surfaces, coatings, and tribological

components.

11. Real-time monitoring, analysis, and control of tribological systems

during operations.

12. Sustainable energy applications should be the priority.

 Areas of Green Tribology
Three focus areas of tribology have the greatest impact on
environmental issues, and therefore, they are of importance for
green tribology:

(1) Biomimetic and self-lubricating materials/surfaces.

(2) Biodegradable and environment-friendly lubricants, coatings,

and materials.

(3) Tribology of renewable and/or sustainable sources of energy.

 Biomimetic Surfaces
Biomimetics (also referred to as bionics or biomimicry) is the
application of biological methods and systems found in nature to
the study and design of engineering systems and modern
technology.

Many biological materials or design have remarkable properties/

features which can hardly be achieved by conventional
engineering methods.
Biological materials/design in our surroundings

Spider can produce huge amounts (compared with the linear size
of his body) of silk fiber which is stronger than steel without any
access to the high temperatures and pressures which would be
required to produce such materials as steel using conventional
human technology
Retractable claws
A lion's. claws are like razors sharp and retractable keeping
them retracted protects the claws for when they are most
needed. as with all cats the Lions claws play a key role in bringing
down prey, gripping, running. The idea of retractable awnings or
retractable needles for tires could work well on all terrain tires.
Lotus leaf effect
• The lotus effect based non-adhesive surfaces. The term ‘‘lotus
effect’’ stands for surface roughness-induced
superhydrophobicity and self-cleaning. Superhydrophobicity is
defined as the ability to have a large (>150˚) water contact
angle and, at the same time, low contact angle hysteresis. The
lotus flower is famous for its ability to emerge clean from dirty
water and to repel water from its leaves. This is due to a special
structure of the leaf surface (multiscale roughness) combined
with hydrophobic coatings.
Gecko effect
The Gecko effect, which stands for the ability of specially
structured hierarchical surfaces to exhibit controlled adhesion.
Geckos are known for their ability to climb vertical walls due to a
strong adhesion between their toes and a number of various
surfaces. They can also detach easily from a surface when
needed.
Fish scale effect

Microstructured surfaces for underwater applications, including

easy flow due to boundary slip, the suppression of turbulence
(the shark-skin effect), and anti-biofouling (the fish-scale effect).
Biofouling and biofilming are the undesirable accumulation of
microorganisms, plants, and algae on structures which are
immersed in water.
Moth eye effect
Microstructured surfaces for various optical applications,
including nonreflective (the Moth-eye effect), highly reflective,
colored (in some cases, including the ability to dynamically
control coloration), and transparent surfaces. Optical surfaces
are sensitive to contamination, so the self-cleaning ability should
often be combined with optical properties.
Anti Icing
• Microtextured surfaces for de-icing and anti-icing. De-icing
(the removal of frozen contaminant from a surface) and anti-
icing (protecting against the formation of frozen contaminant)
are significant problems for many applications that have to
operate below the water freezing temperature: aircrafts,
machinery etc. After freezing, ice will not adhere to solid due
to the presence of air pockets and will be easily washed or
blown away.
Beetle effect
Darkling beetle effect, e.g., the ability of a desert beetle to
collect water on its back using the hydrophilic spots on the
otherwise hydrophobic surface of its back.
Sand Fish effect
The ‘‘sand fish’’ lizard effect, able to dive and ‘‘swim’’ in loose
sand due to special electromechanical properties of its scale. It,s
scales exhibits abrasion resistance and low friction,while moving
through sand.
Water strider effect
Water strider effect mimicking the ability of insects to walk on
water using the capillary forces. The hierarchical organization of
the water strider leg surface plays a role in its ability to remain
dry on water surface.
 Biodegradable Lubrication, Coatings, and
Materials
In the area of environment-friendly and biodegradable lubrication
several ideas have been suggested:
• The use of natural (e.g., vegetable-oil based or animal-fat based)
biodegradable lubricants. This involves oils that are used for engines,
hydraulic applications, and metal cutting applications. In particular,
corn, soybean, coconut oils have been used so far. However, natural
oils often lack sufficient oxidative stability, which means that the oil
will oxidize rather quickly during use, becoming thick.
• Ionic liquids for green molecular lubrication, because they do not
emit volatile organic compounds. Common industrial lubricants
include natural and synthetic hydrocarbons and perfluoropolyethers
(PFPEs), where the latter is widely used in commercial applications
requiring extreme operating conditions due to their high temperature
stability and extremely low vapor pressure.
Cont..

• Powder lubricants and, in particular, boric acid lubricants. In

general, these tend to be much more ecologically friendly than
the traditional liquid lubricants. Boric acid powder can also be
used as an additive to the natural oil.
• Self-replenishing lubrication that uses oil-free environmentally
benign powders for lubrication of critical components such as
bearings used in fuel cell compressors and expanders.
• Water lubrication of bearings and other tribological
components. Recently, a lot of attention has been paid to
water lubrication which is considered an ecofriendly method.
• New eco-friendly coating materials for tribological
applications.
Cont..

• Environmental effect of wear particles. It has been suggested

that environmental aspects should become an integral part of
brake design. Preliminary data obtained with animal
experiments revealed that the inhaled metallic particles
remain deposited in the lungs of rats 6 month after the
exposure and led to destroyed alveoli.
Cont..
Medical implants often carry surface substrates that release
active substances or to which biomolecules or cells can adhere
better. However, degradable gas-phase coatings (biodegradable
polymer coating) for degradable implants, such as surgical suture
materials or scaffolds for tissue culturing, have been lacking so
far. Researchers now present a polymer coating that is degraded
in the body together with its carrier.
 Renewable Energy
The tribology of renewable sources of energy is a relatively new
field of tribology. Today, there are meetings and sessions
devoted to the tribology of wind turbines at almost every
tribology conference, and they cover certain issues specific for
these applications. Unlike in the case of the biomimetic
approach and environment-friendly lubrication, it is not the
manufacturing or operation, but the very application of the
tribological system which involves ‘‘green’’ issues, namely,
environmentally friendly energy production.
Cont..

Fig: Wind turbine is a renewable energy device; it posses several moving parts
and they are subjected to wear; blades get eroded while bearing and gears wear
out due to rubbing or sliding.
Cont..
The following issues related to renewable energy can be
mentioned.
• Wind power turbines have a number of specific problems
related to their tribology, and constitute a well-established
area of tribological research. These issues include water
contamination, electric arcing on generator bearings, issues
related to the wear of the main shaft and gearbox bearings
and gears, the erosion of blades (solid particles, cavitation,
rain, hail stones), etc.
Cont…
• Tidal power turbines are another important way of producing
renewable energy, which involves certain tribiological
problems, such as their lubrication (seawater, oils, and
greases), erosion, corrosion, and biofouling, as well as the
interaction between these modes of damage.
• Besides tidal, the ocean water flow and wave energy and river
flow energy (without dams) can be used with the application
of special turbines, such as the Gorlov helical turbine, which
provides the same direction of rotation independent of the
direction of the current flow. These applications also involve
specific tribological issues
Cont…
• Geothermal energy plants are used in the US (in particular, at
the Pacific coast and Alaska); however, their use is limited to
the geographical areas at the edges of tectonic plates . They
produced 2.7 GW of energy in the US, with Philippines (2.0
GW) and Indonesia (1.0 GW) in the second and third places .
There are several issues related to the tribology of geothermal
energy sources which are discussed in the literature.
Cont..

Fig: Other examples of renewable energy; i.e geothermal energy and tidal energy.
Issues Addressed by Researchers

Fig: Depth of the cavitation pits within various fluid

environments related to the mean depth erosion within
steel materials (Tzanakis et. al.)
Cont…

Fig: Slip
way case
study-
Different
lubricant
regimes
were
tested.
Cont…

Fig: Reusable plastics compared for skateboard application, where high friction
coefficient is required; PU- polyurethane; PC-poly carbonate; HDPE-High density
poly ethylene; PP-poly propane.
Cont…
In context to the same study

Fig: Evaluation of CO2 footprint for various recyclable polymer

materials.
Cont…

Fig: The WCAs (water contact angles) on the surfaces of smooth Ni with
positive and negative textured surfaces and the replicas of lotus leaf and
rice leaf. (wang et al.)
Cont..

Fig: Variation of a) friction coefficient with time, b) wear volume with halloysite
clay nanotubes (a green lubricant) weight percentage (2017 pena-paras et al.).
Cont..

Fig:Typical
force–
distance
curves and
Adhesion
force curves
obtained
with sand
probe,
spherical
glass probe
and sharp
silicon of
sand fish
scales.
Cont…

In context to the same study sand fish scales were compare to four other
species, living in the same habitat. Results showed scales of other species
are better abrasive resistant and exhibits low adhesion force.

Fig: Direct comparison of the adhesion force measured with a sand probe
on the scales of four species (P. Guttatus, E. Pyramidum, S.
diadema, and N. atra) and dorsal scales of sandfish (S. Scincus) ( Wu et
al.)
Cont..

Fig: SEM images showing the similarity of surface morphologies of (a) cBN–TiN
composite coating and (b) lotus leaf (Wu et al.); result on next slide.
Cont…

Fig: Coefficient of friction vs. time during sliding of 440C stainless steel
balls against a PVD MoS2 coating in vacuum (∼10−4 Pa). For
comparison, result from sliding of the burnished MoS2 on a cBN–TiN
coating is also plotted. (Coating is done on lotus leaf like cBN-TiN
coating structure, which brings similar results in both condition)
 Challenges in the field of Green Tribology
As a new field, green tribology has a number of challenges. One
apparent challenge is the development of its each area of studies in
such a manner that they could benefit from each other. Only where
such synthesis is performed is it possible to see green tribology as a
coherent and self sustained field of science and technology, rather
than a collection of several topics of research in tribology and surface
engineering.
• There is potential synergy in the use of biomimetic approach,
microstructuring, biodegradable lubrication, self-lubrication, and
other novel approaches as well as in developing methods of their
applications to sustainable engineering and energy production.
Clearly, more research should be performed for the integration of
these fields.
Cont..
• Some ideas could be borrowed from the related field of green
chemistry, for example, developing quantitative metrics to assess
the environmental impact of tribological technologies.
• Green tribology should be integrated into world science and make
its impact on the solutions for worldwide problems, such as the
change of climate and the shortage of food and drinking water.

According to Jost the economical potential of the new discipline: ‘‘the

application of tribological principles alone will, of course, not solve
these world-wide problems. Only major scientific achievements are
likely to be the key to their solution, of which Energy as one of the
most important ones.
Cont..
For such tasks to be achieved, the application of Tribology, and
especially of green tribology can provide a breathing space
which would enable scientists and technologists to find solutions
to these, mankind’s crucial problems and allow time for them to
be implemented by governments, organizations and indeed
everyone operating in this important field.
 Future of Green Tribology
• As the demand of self sustainable and renewable energy
generating system is increasing green tribology could play a
vital role to achieve the goal.
• Energy conservation is part of green tribology, moreover it is
important from engineering and economical point of view,
and tribology could minimize the efforts.
• Innovation in the field of organic and eco-friendly lubricants.
• To meet the necessities of high performance materials,
biomimic studies could be useful.
• Green lubricants and coatings could be useful to minimize the
health hazards.
Cont..
• Recycling of the wastes like oils, grease, lubricants has lot of
scope in the field of green tribology.
• Usage of eco-friendly chemicals could reduces the burden of
waste management.
Thank you