GOALI: Collaborative Research: Tribology of Nanocomposites

这是佛罗里达大学（W.G. Sawyer）、伦斯勒理工学院（L.S. Schadler）和奥尔巴尼国际（G. Toney）团队的一项合作提议，该团队由一名摩擦学家和一名材料科学家组成，他们的公司专注于开发具有改善磨损性能的纳米材料。该项目的总体科学目标是通过以下方式获得对填充聚合物磨损机制的基本理解：a)通过实验分离颗粒尺寸（10 nm至10 um）、颗粒长径比（1至1000）、分散、填料/基体界面和基体性能对性能的影响；b)获得磨损行为与其他机械性能之间相关性的参数化理解；c)对磨损性能进行建模。与传统填充聚合物相比，聚合物纳米复合材料显著提高了摩擦学性能。对于非色纳米颗粒，降低摩擦系数的机理尚不清楚。最后，尽管有证据表明纳米颗粒填充聚合物在性能上有很大的提高，但它们在磨损应用方面还没有得到全面的探索。这些新材料在聚合物轴承中的影响将是广泛的，涵盖从需要干滑动轴承的工业应用，到骨科植入材料，再到空间环境的自润滑轴承。奥尔巴尼国际对这项工作的支持（约6万美元）表明了工业界对这一领域的兴趣。他们正在为伦斯勒的一名全日制研究生提供资助，并为佛罗里达州的磨损测试提供资金。他们将雇用一名研究生担任合作岗位，以便将佛罗里达大学和伦斯勒学院开发的技术转让给学生，并为学生提供工业经验。学生们将在纽约特洛伊的伦斯勒理工学院和佛罗里达州盖恩斯维尔的佛罗里达大学之间旅行，分别拓宽他们在纳米颗粒和复合材料的合成和加工以及摩擦学测试和建模方面的知识。

Abstract: GOALI Tribology of Nanocomposites This collaborative proposal between the University of Florida (W.G. Sawyer), Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (L.S. Schadler) and Albany International (G. Toney) teams a tribologist and a materials scientist with a company focused on developing nanomaterials with improved wear behavior. 1.0 Intellectual Merit The overall scientific goal of the project is to gain fundamental understanding of the wear mechanisms in filled polymers by: a) experimentally isolating the effects of particle size (10 nm to 10 um), particle aspect ratio (1 to 1000), dispersion, filler / matrix interface, and matrix properties on performance, b) obtaining a parametric understanding of the correlation between wear behavior and other mechanical properties, and c) modeling of the wear properties. Polymer nanocomposites significantly improve the tribological performance when compared to traditional filled polymers. It is unclear for non-lubricious nanoparticles what the mechanism is that lowers the coefficient of friction. Finally, nanoparticle filled polymers have not been comprehensively explored for wear applications despite evidence suggesting large improvements in performance. 2.0 Broader Impacts The impact of these new materials in polymeric bearings will be broad, covering the spectrum from industrial applications needing dry sliding bearings, to orthopaedic implant materials, to self-lubricating bearings for space environments. An indication of the industrial interest in this field is the support of Albany International for this work (~$60K). They are supporting a full time graduate student at Rensselaer and have also supplied funds to Florida for wear testing. They will be hiring a graduate student into a co-op position in order to transfer technology developed by Florida and Rensselaer and provide industrial experience for the student. Students will travel between both Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy NY and the University of Florida in Gainesville FL to broaden their knowledge in the synthesizing and processing of nano-particles and composites and tribological testing and modeling, respectively.