Friction and wear cost the UK economy 5-8% of its GDP each year, and this project aims to turn that drain into a design tool. The word “tribology”—the science of rubbing, sliding, and wearing surfaces—was coined in 1966, when a landmark report first quantified the enormous savings possible from managing friction better. Fifty years on, the fundamental science remains the same, but the challenges have shifted. Today’s industrial problems involve nanoscale manufacturing, complex materials, and robots operating in extreme environments. This proposal treats tribology not as a problem to be minimised but as a positive, enabling technology to be engineered into those systems from the start. If successful, the work could transform how advanced manufacturing and robotics are designed—reducing energy waste, extending machine life, and enabling precision movements in robots that currently grind themselves down. The research is primarily fundamental, driven by the need to understand friction and wear across multiple scales, from atomic contacts to whole robotic joints. That deeper understanding could eventually underpin quieter, more efficient, and longer-lasting machines in factories, hospitals, and beyond.
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The 9th March 2016 was the 50th anniversary of the landmark "Jost Report - Lubrication (Tribology) Education and Research" . The word Tribology was born and the dramatic financial savings that could be gained by optimum practice in this area were formally documented for the first time. 50 years on, the impact of tribology (friction and wear) on the economies of developed nations remains the same; 5-8% of GDP; but tribology as an engineering science has evolved. Tribology challenges in 2016 and beyond are driven by new challenges; the challenges in 1966 were solved and new challenges go with the emergence of new industrial areas. The basic science of tribology remains the same but there is a need to embrace multi-scale thinking, complex materials and interfaces and systems to operate in new and demanding environments. In this proposal Tribology as an enabling technology will be integrated into two industrial areas that are underpinning for the UK and internationally; advanced manufacturing and robotics and autonomous systems. The proposal is transformative as it brings tribology, as a positive and enabling discipline, into two emerging areas of nanomanufacturing and robotics. Tribology is normally associated with the wear and degradation and whilst important to the economy normally has negative connotations. This proposal embraces the positive aspects of triblogical science.
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