NANOTRIBOLOGY

Feb. 28, 2006

Warren Courtney

Reasons to study nanotribology

• To clarify our understanding of macroscopic friction effects

• Estimated saving >$100 billion year in N. America if improvements in machinery wear can be reduced

• Reduction in use of energy and materials if friction can be reduced

• To understand the friction and wear of magnetic storage devices if target of 1 terabit/6.5 cm2

density and fast download is to be achievable

Device for scanning tip tribology

• Scanning tip usually Si3N4, or Natural Diamond

RETURN TO TOMLINSON MODEL

Scan of friction loop

generated by a scanning

tip moving over a

sodium chloride crystal

Difference in Nanoscale measurement where tip size affects the coefficient of friction as opposed to cof being a

property of two surfaces

• Figure 1: Effect of tip sizes on friction.

EFFECTS OF SURFACE CONTACT

REFERENCES

• www.mat.ethz.ch/research/tribology/nanotribology/• http://physicsweb.org/articles/world/18/2

• grove.ufl.edu/~wgsawyer/MURI/MURI.html • Bhuushan, B. Handbook of micro/Nano tribology CRC

Press, 1995

• www.pacificnanotech.com/nanotribology_lubricant-

studies.html • www.vide.org/evc9/abstracts/pdf/11%20bushan.pdf