Environmentally friendly lubricants for higher productivity in cold rolling. This project aims to develop an oil free aqueous lubricant for cold rolling to replace the existing oil-in-water emulsion. The lubricant will be molecularly engineered to combine synergy between nanomechanics and tribochemistry of boundary additives to deliver integrated functionalities in the strip rolling. During cold rolling , lubricant starvation often occurs at high speed and it has restricted the productivity of t ....Environmentally friendly lubricants for higher productivity in cold rolling. This project aims to develop an oil free aqueous lubricant for cold rolling to replace the existing oil-in-water emulsion. The lubricant will be molecularly engineered to combine synergy between nanomechanics and tribochemistry of boundary additives to deliver integrated functionalities in the strip rolling. During cold rolling , lubricant starvation often occurs at high speed and it has restricted the productivity of the rolling mill and affected the strip gauge and surface quality. Expected outcomes of this project include an innovative oil free lubricant with significant environmental benefits and an ability for manufacturers to improve productivity by operating at higher speeds, lower costs, and achieve superior strip surface quality.Read moreRead less
Multiscale viscoelastic lubrication of soft matter systems. The project aims to develop new principles of viscoelastic lubrication in soft contacts. New insights into friction behaviour arising from complex fluid-substrate interactions are expected to be generated using techniques and interdisciplinary approaches that bridge rheology, tribology and surface science. The intended outcome is a lubrication model that interprets the contribution of viscoelastic effects occurring across multiple lengt ....Multiscale viscoelastic lubrication of soft matter systems. The project aims to develop new principles of viscoelastic lubrication in soft contacts. New insights into friction behaviour arising from complex fluid-substrate interactions are expected to be generated using techniques and interdisciplinary approaches that bridge rheology, tribology and surface science. The intended outcome is a lubrication model that interprets the contribution of viscoelastic effects occurring across multiple length and time scales. This should provide significant benefits to diverse fields including advanced materials and complex fluids, engineering tribology, bio-lubrication and food structure design.Read moreRead less
Slippery when wet: lubrication with responsive polymers. Lubrication and friction of aqueous (water-based) systems is important in many industrial and biological contexts, such as oil and gas exploration, solid/liquid separation, bioimplants and therapeutic treatments for joints. The outcomes of this project will provide greater control of friction through the use of stimulus responsive polymers.