GOALI: Collaborative Research: Tribology of Nanocomposites

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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.