Tribology of Advanced Materials and Processes

材料的磨损是一个重大的工业问题；加拿大国家研究委员会最近的一份报告估计，加拿大工业每年的磨损成本约为100亿美元。这强调了在摩擦学（材料的摩擦和磨损）方面发展经济和技术上可行的研究计划的必要性。我的研究项目涉及许多关键领域，这些领域对提高我们对先进材料和涂层的磨损和摩擦的理解至关重要。拟议的研究计划将解决两个对航空航天工业具有重大价值的主题。(i)评估使用新一代超弹性钛镍合金作为要求苛刻的耐磨和抗凹痕轴承的适用性。在精密轴承经历过载的情况下，很容易发生磨损和凹陷。目前轴承是由坚硬的材料制成的，这对许多应用都是令人满意的。然而，对于轴承承受冲击载荷的情况，不仅磨损而且抗凹痕对轴承的性能至关重要。在这种情况下，需要一种硬度高但柔顺的材料。具有这些独特性能的可能候选材料是超弹性钛镍合金。这种轴承将潜在地转化为与减少停机时间和零件更换频率相关的显著成本节约。开发和试验新的环境友好型铝基和锌基涂层，作为镉的潜在替代品。几十年来，由于其优异的润滑性，镉一直是航空航天工业紧固件涂层的首选。不幸的是，镉是剧毒的，受到环境机构和职业健康与安全组织的严格监管。因此，需要寻找一种合适的环保替代涂层。

Wear of materials is a significant industrial problem; a recent National Research Council of Canada report estimated that the cost of wear to Canadian industry is approximately 10 billion dollars annually. This stresses the need to develop economically and technologically viable research programs in tribology (friction and wear of materials). My research program involves a number of key areas that are pivotal to enhancing our understanding of wear and friction of advanced materials and coatings. The proposed research program would tackle two themes of significant value to the aerospace industry. (i) Assess the suitability of using a new generation of superelastic titanium-nickel alloys as wear and dent resistant bearings for demanding applications. In situations where precision bearings experience overloading, wear and denting can readily occur. Currently bearings are made from hard and stiff materials, which are satisfactory for many applications. However, for situations where bearings are subjected to shock loading, not only wear but also dent resistance becomes critical to the performance of bearings. In such scenarios, a material with high hardness yet compliant would be desirable. A possible candidate material possessing these unique properties is superelastic titanium-nickel alloy. Such bearings would potentially translate to significant cost savings associated with reduced downtime and frequency of parts replacement. (ii) Develop and test novel environmentally friendly aluminum and zinc-based coatings as potential substitutes for cadmium. Cadmium has been the coating of choice for fasteners in the aerospace industry over many decades due to its excellent lubricity. Unfortunately, cadmium is highly toxic and is heavily regulated by environmental agencies and occupational health and safety organizations. Therefore the need exists to search for a suitable environmentally friendly alternative coating.