Tribology

About 25% of the energy consumed by mankind is lost in contact between moving surfaces. This figure shows that understanding the tribological phenomena of friction, lubrication and wear is necessary to meet the technological challenges of sustainable production and the reliability of consumer goods or energy frugality. At the crossroads of mechanics, physics and chemistry of materials, this course gives the principles and methods of surface engineering used in tribology to design complex interfaces in biological implants, mechanical assemblies of propulsion and power transmission or manufacturing processes.

I. The mechanics of static contacts: Contact between smooth and rough surfaces, Role of thin solid films and coatings II. Macroscopic laws of friction and wear: Static and kinetic friction, Physics of friction and wear III. Surfaces and lubricants: Adhesive contacts, Structure and properties of lubricants and additives IV. Thin film lubrication: Experimental and computational hydrodynamics, Elastohydrodynamic lubrication in high-pressure contacts V. Boundary lubrication: Control of friction and wear, Nanotribology and molecular lubrication