Lubrication in Harsh Conditions

Friction and wear control under harsh operating conditions is a challenge in many industrial applications. In metal working applications, tribology plays a crucial role for the robustness and efficiency of the process. An optimum friction level is important as it influences the tolerances, final geometry, and quality of the produced component. Minimising wear of expensive tooling is necessary to ensure low production costs and reduced process downtime due to maintenance. For conventional metal working operations, efficient lubrication solutions exist. However, in case of demanding applications such as forming of high-strength materials, tribologically challenging materials such as stainless steel, and hot forming processes, the available options for friction and wear control are few and sometime not existing at all. This talk will discuss the tribological challenges in selected demanding metal forming applications, show examples of potential solutions for friction and wear control, and present an outlook for future research needs.

About The Speakers

Prof. Jens Hardell is the head of the Division of Machine Elements at the Luleå University of Technology. His research interests are in high temperature tribology, tribology of dry contacts and surface engineering. He has been a member of the Swedish tribology Group since 2011 and has numerous industrial collaborations such as SKF, Ionbond and Scania. Prof Hardell is also a visiting researcher at Université de Lyon, Kassel University, Germany and Atatürk University in Erzurum, Turkey.