Tribolab - tribological research laboratory
Tribolab is a state-of-the-art tribological research laboratory housing a large number of advanced test facilities. Both research projects as well as contract research for industry is carried out in Tribolab.
Tribolab carries out tribological characterisation of materials and lubricants under different operating conditions. This leads to reduced failures and breakdowns due to reduced wear ad friction as well as improved lubrication. Tribolab can also perform simulations and modelling connected to laboratory tests.
All companies that deals with questions related to wear, lubrication, friction, and maintenance in industrial processes benefit from the competitive advantage that Triboab offers. Knowledge and good analytical capabilities reduce costs and increase the quality and robustness of components.
Tribolab carries out commissioned projects and joint research and development projects, and holds courses and seminars in tribology, rheology, and maintenance and condition control.
Confidential assignments are planned, carried out and reported to the ordering company. Experience from non-confidential assignments can be used in seminars, articles and courses. The experience is also used in research and undergraduate education at the university.
Tribolab also provides access to a network between companies and universities, which results in new knowledge, contacts with companies and the possibility to design major joint projects.
Equipment at Tribolab
The Wyko NT1100 is a 3D optical surface profiler that uses interferometry to measure a surface. It has two main features, VSI (Vertical Scanning Interferometry) and PSI (Phase Shifting Interferometry). In the VSI mode it utilizes scanning white light interferometry which is a bright and dark pattern resulting from splitting of a beam where one part is reflected against a very smooth reference surface and the other against the test specimen. After reflection the beams are recombined in the interferometer and an interference pattern occurs. This pattern is photographed by a CCD camera and transferred to the computer for analysis. A piezoelectric transducer moves focus down and the process is repeated to make another picture. The PSI mode is similar to the VSI but it uses filtered light and the reference surface is translated instead of the objective. It also uses the difference in intensity instead of fringes for height data acquisition. The data that is acquired from a measurement is then used to generate a 3D image of the surface. The software Vision32 enables advanced calculations of various surface parameters and image processing.
Technical specifications
- Magnification: 1.25X - 100X
- Vertical resolution (VSI): <1 nm
- Vertical resolution (PSI): 1 Å
The abrasive wear tester is a versatile equipment for abrasive wear testing of materials in reciprocating sliding. It consists of a table that holds the specimen and reciprocates it against an abrasive paper wrapped around the circumferential surface of a wheel (ø50mm × 12mm thick). The wheel is turned by a fraction of one rotation at the end of each stroke so as to enable the rubbing of tested material against fresh abrasive surface. This machine has several advantages such as high reproducibility, short test time, simple flat test geometry, easy evaluation, simple operation. A special advantage of having the abrasive wheel positioned underneath the tested sample is that worn off material is automatically removed by gravity and thereby does not influence the wear of the surface. This machine has some disadvantages. The friction can not be measured by this machine; some parameters such as humidity and temperature can not be controlled.
Technical specifications
- Load: up to 5 kg
- Board speed:20-100 RPM
- Board cycles:1-9999
- Wheel rotation:1/600, 1/500, 1/400, 1/300, 1/200 (REV)
The Cameron Plint TE77 high frequency friction machine is a very versatile reciprocating tribometer. One of the main advantages with the TE77 is the fact that it is possible to use either standard specimens or specimens cut from real components which enables testing under conditions close to the real application. It uses a mechanical drive to oscillate the upper specimen against the stationary lower one. A block heater mounted beneath the lower specimen enables testing at elevated temperatures.
Technical specifications
- Load range: 10-250 N
- Frequency: 2.5-50 Hz
- Stroke: 0.1-15 mm
- Temperature: Room temperature - 600 ºC
The TE 92HS Rotary tribometer is a versatile tribological test machine suitable for R&D of lubricants and materials. The various attachments enables many contact geometries such as sliding and rolling four ball tests, thrust washer, multiple or single pin on disc and taper roller bearing shear test, several related to international test standards e.g. ASTM D4172 wear preventive characteristics of lubricants and IP300 rolling contact fatigue test for fluids.
- Pneumatic load cells for low and high load
- Low and high speed assembly
- Measurement of applied load and friction
- Electrical resistance heater-Thermocouples
- Piezo-electric sensor for vibration detection
Technical specifications
- Normal load: 20-1000, 200-10000 N
- Shaft Speed: 60-3000, 100-10000 revolutions per minute
- Pre Heating: Up to 200ºC
- Friction tr.duc. cap: 20 Nm
The pin carrier assembly and disc carrier assembly is held fixed by the base frame in order to maintain the alignment between the specimens to enable usage of flat-on-flat geometry. The pneumatic load actuator can handle steady and fluctuating loads with sine or triangular shaped waves. A linear potentiometer measures the movement of the pin piston and can provide in-situ wear measurements. Both dry and lubricated test are possible. For the lubricated situation there is an enclosure to submerge the disc, which features two electrical resistance heating elements to control temperature.
Technical specifications
- Speed: 60-2000 revolutions per minute
- Load: Dead weight (5-100 N), Pneumatic system (25-1000 N)
- Friction force: 0-50 N and 0-1000 N
- Contact potential: 40 mV DC signal
- Wear meas.: Linear potentiometer 0-2.5 mm (Resolution: Less than 2 µm)
Versatile modular tribometer for stick-disc, block-on-ring and four-ball tests.
Three different load sensors:
- Maximum 500 mN
- Maximum 5 N
- 5-500 N
Temperature: Up to 150 °C
Lower motorized driving forces | Rotational speed or stroke length |
---|---|
Medium torque for rotary motion | 0.1-5000 RPM |
High torque rotational movement | 0.1-30 RPM |
Block-on-ring operation | 0.1 to 5000 rpm |
Linear reciprocating motion | 0.25'' at 30Hz and 1.0'' at 15 Hz |
Utilised for reciprocating friction and wear tests under lubricated or dry conditions at temperatures upto 900 C.
Reciprocating shear, friction and wear tester (SRV)
Variables:
- Load
- frequency
- Stroke length
- temperature
- Type of contact
Types of tribological tests:
- Possible to perform dry and lubricated tests
- Assessment of wear resistance of materials
- Different types of contact (controlled by the geometry of the specimen)
- High temperature tests (up to 900 ºC)
- Possibility to use reducing or oxidizing atmosphere
Technical specifications
- Load: 5 - 2000 N
- Frequency: 1 - 500 Hz
- Impact length: 0.1 - 4 mm
- Temperature: Room temperature - 900 ºC
Two disc machine for rolling/sliding tests under lubricated or fry conditions.
Technical specifications
- Load: 0-2000 N
- Speed: 0-3000 revolutions per minute
- Temperature: Room temperature - 100 ºC
The Wedeven Associates Machine Ball on Disc tribotester is an apparatus used to measure lubricated friction up to 3 GPa. It enables the evaluation of:
- Lubricants
- Coatings
- Surface treatments
- Running conditions
- And similar
This machine can mimic tribological conditions that occur in various components, including:
- Gears
- Rolling element bearings
- Cam followers
It plays an important role in testing and evaluating the performance and wear resistance of different materials, lubricants and finishes under different operating conditions.
Technical specifications - friction test
- Load: Up to 1000 N
- Maximum contact pressure: Up to 2.9 GPa
- Entrainment speed: Up to 20 m/s
- Slide to roll ratio: -2.0 to 2.0
- Temperature: -5 to 100 ºC
Technical specifications - optics
- Load: Up to 50 N
- Maximum contact pressure: Up to 0.6 GPa
- Entrainment speed: Up to about 10 m/s
- Slide to roll ratio: -2.0 to 2.0
- Temperature: Room temperature to 100 ºC
- Minimum measurable film thickness: Approximately 5 nm (with wafer layer disk)
- Maximum measurable film thickness: Approximately 750 nm
Using a sapphire disc will increase maximum load to more than 100 N and thus maximum contact pressure to more than 0.8 GPa.
Technical specifications
- Load: 50 - 5000 N
- Speed: 0.01 - 0.25 m/s
- Temperature (Strip): Room temperature - 1000 ºC
- Temperature (Tools): Room temperature - 700 ºC
Technical specifications
- Load: 0 - 30 kN
- Speed: 0 - 290 revolutions per minute
- Oil temperature: Room temperature - 120ºC
- Torque: 0 - 500 Nm
- Oil volume: 1 liter
- Number of friction interfaces: 1
Technical specifications
- Resolution: 3 nN force and 0.001 nm displacement
- Load range: 10 µm - 500 mN
- Depth range: 0 - 50 µm
Six cylinder base engine for low vibration operation.
Designed to fit production heavy duty diesel engine piston rings and cylinder liners.
Technical specifications
- Speed: 0 - 2200 rpm (max 11 m/s)
- Temperature: Room temperature - 80 ºC
Technical specifications
- Load: 5 N - 2.5 kN (axial)
- Speed: 100 - 2500 revolutions per minute
- Lubrication: Grease or oil
The remaining useful life assessment routine is a procedure that measures the relative amount of antioxidants in an aged lubricant. This helps to assess how much life remains for the lubricant before it needs to be replaced or repaired.
Technical specifications
Near and mid infrared spectrometer (13000 to 400 cm-1) Estimates oxidation level, additive levels, water content. Can also be used to qualitatively compare new and used lubricants for quality assurance or for lubricant degradation. The above example is a Dexron VI transmission fluid.
Test rig for wet couplings under limited sliding conditions.
Technical specifications
- Load: 0 - 30 kN
- Speed: 0 - 317 revolutions per minute
- Oil temperature: Room temperature - 120ºC
- Torque: 0 - 500 Nm
- Oil volume: 0.3 liters
- Number of friction interfaces: 4
Test rig for engagement of wet couplings
An inertia type wet clutch test rig, designed to investigate wear and friction properties of wet clutch friction materials. Energy is stored in the flywheel, then dissipated by engaging the clutch, creating conditions similar to those of a gearshift in most types of construction equipment. Wear is measured by correlating the output of a position sensor between engagements.
Technical specifications
- Inertia: 0.658 kgm²
- Speed: 0-3000 revolutions per minute
- Friction interface: 4
- Max torque: Approximately 1 kNm
- Eng. pressure: Up to 2 MPa
- Inner diameter: 114.2 mm
- Outer diameter: 148.5 mm
Technical specifications
- Magnification: 1.375x - 200x
- Maximum vertical resolution: Approximately 0.1 nm
- Scan length: 150 µm
- 6 motorized axes
Contact
Jens Hardell
- Professor, Head of Division
- 0920-491774
- jens.hardell@ltu.se
- Jens Hardell
Roland Larsson
- Professor and Head of Subject
- 0920-491325
- roland.larsson@ltu.se
- Roland Larsson
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