The Centre for Advanced Tribology at Southampton

Completed

Energy Efficiency
Not Energy Related
Fossil Fuels: Oil Gas and Coal(Oil and Gas, Enhanced oil and gas production)

Basic and strategic applied research

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (Mechanical, Aeronautical and Manufacturing Engineering)

Not Cross-cutting

Professor PA Nelson
Inst of Sound and Vibration Research
University of Southampton

Standard

EPSRC

01 April 2008

31 March 2013

60 months

£3,204,589

Mechanical engineering

South East

NC : Engineering

Professor PA Nelson, Inst of Sound and Vibration Research, University of Southampton

Professor G Price, School of Engineering Sciences, University of Southampton
Professor RJK Wood, School of Engineering Sciences, University of Southampton

Project Contact, Rotork Controls Ltd
Project Contact, The Welding Institute
Project Contact, Oerlikon Balzers Coating UK Ltd
Project Contact, Micro Materials Ltd
Project Contact, TaiCaan Technologies Ltd
Project Contact, Phoenix Tribology Ltd
Project Contact, Finsbury Orthopaedics Ltd
Project Contact, Chevron Oronite Company LLC, USA
Project Contact, Depuy International Ltd
Project Contact, ESR Technology Ltd
Project Contact, Score Europe Ltd
Project Contact, FAG Aerospace GmbH & Co KG, Germany
Project Contact, Daido Industrial Bearings Europe Ltd
Project Contact, Shell Global Solutions UK
Project Contact, Schlumberger PLC
Project Contact, Lloyd's Register
Project Contact, Teer Coatings Ltd
Project Contact, Smiths Aerospace Electronics Systems
Project Contact, Airbus UK Ltd
Project Contact, Schlumberger-Doll Research, USA
Project Contact, DSTL - Defence Science and Technology Laboratory

Tribology is an essential technology for nearly all UK Industry, including defence, and impacts on energy efficiency, carbon and other emissions, machine life, engine design, maintenance schedules and machine downtime, and the recovery and processing of oil reserves. It is also critical to the long term mobility, health and quality of life of patients with damaged or replacement joints. The Centre for Advanced Tribology at Southampton (CATS) will use the 3.05M S & I grant plus 6.2M gearing from the University and Industry to recruit young staff from a variety of strategic disciplines to create an internationally leading research centre. This will conduct research into areas of major national importance such as future machines of all scales, energy efficiency, emissions and human health. The key role of the new staff will be to link with 18 academics in the School of Engineering Sciences and to 18 academics in six other Schools/Centres within the University of Southampton. The otherSchools participating will be those of Electronics and Computer Science, Biological Sciences, Medicine, Mathematics, Statistics and Chemistry, thus creating a truly multidisciplinary Centre. This will be the first large interdisciplinary centre specifically focused on Tribology in the UK. CATS will uniquely address the combination of multiscale modelling, analytical and experimental techniques to develop a better understanding of tribological processes at the molecular, nano and micro scales.This understanding will be used in the development of micro-systems as well as predictive models concerned with macro contact performance. It will also address the interactions of biology and tribology, critically, by coupled modelling-experimental approaches to the nature of solid/liquid and cell-surface interfaces in biotribological and biological processes. CATS will have a distinctive platform by accessing the world class facilities and expertise at Southampton in high performance computing (Microsoft Institute of High Performance Computing), microfabrication and MEMS (new 60M clean room complex), advanced surface science, Developmental Sciences incorporating the Centre for Human Development, Stem Cells and Regeneration in the School of Medicine as well as researchers in electrochemistry and biological sciences. CATS would use these resources for innovative modelling, applying novel solutions to MEMS, developing MEMS as sensors and novel probes for tribological processes, surface film characterisation by scanning probes. It would also deploy advanced electrochemical techniques to understand the human biological reactions to metal ion release and the surface-biotribology performance of joint implants. CATS will also aim to use collaborations with over twenty industrial partners with major tribological activities (such as Airbus, DePuy, Shell, Lloyd's Register, Dstl, NPL and Schlumberger) to ensure that the research footprint of the centre is aligned with industrial need, research can be exploited efficiently and to ensure effective national technology transfer of the knowledge generated by the centre

14/12/07