Ionic liquids (ILs) are finding technological applications as chemical reaction media and engineering fluids. Some emerging fields are those of lubrication, surface engineering and nanotechnology. ILs are thermally stable, non-flammable highly polar fluids with negligible volatility, these characteristics make them ideal candidates for new lubricants under severe conditions, were conventional o...

Tribology is the science and technology of interacting solid surfaces in relative motion, and its topics include the study of lubricants, lubrication, friction, wear, and bearings. It is estimated that friction and wear cost the US economy 6% of the gross national product [1]. For example, 5% of the total energy generated in an automobile engine is lost to frictional resistance. Also notable ar...

A small parameter technique is used to derive Reynolds' lubrication equation from the Stokes equation. The error associated with the approximation is estimated in suitable norms.

It is proposed to use elastomeric composites as artificial joint bearing surfaces to increase their fluid film lubrication and therefore reduce the number of failures which have been attributed to wear mechanisms. The fluid generated between the surfaces supports part of the load and prevents direct contact of the bearing surfaces. In order to obtain optimum elastohydrodynamic lubrication, elas...

We report on the first encapsulated rotary ball bearing mechanism using silicon microfabrication and stainless steel balls. The method of capturing stainless steel balls within a silicon race to support a silicon rotor both axially and radially is developed for rotary micro machines and MEMS ball bearing tribology studies. Initial demonstrations show speeds up to 6.8 krpm without lubrication, w...

The purpose of this article is to review the relevant literature in machining using minimum quantity lubrication particularly as it pertains to environmental, and health issues , and outline future potential research in this technology. The results indicate that the process of mist particles generation and their physical characteristics are yet to be determined for a whole class of machining pr...

Recent studies have shown the existence of two types of discontinuous lipid structures in the synovial fluid lubricant film: (i) the lipid multilayers which form the synovial fluidcartilage interface [Purbach, Clin.Orthop.Relat.Res.2002], and (ii) lipid vesicles present within lubricant films [Watanabe, Med.Electron.Microsc.2000]. The size of these lipid vesicles, compared to the thickness of t...

Abstract. We consider here a discrete system of spheres interacting through a lubrication force. This force is dissipative, and singular near contact: it behaves like the reciprocal of interparticle distance. We propose a macroscopic constitutive equation which is built as the natural continuous counterpart of this microscopic lubrication model. This model, which is of the newtonian type, relie...

Synovial joints form the most important feature of the human body as they represent the centers of the most essential and basic activity in the human beings, which is motion. A synovial joint can be described as a load carrying system consisting of two mating bones with tangential and /or normal motions. The bone ends, which are usually spherical in appearance, are covered with a soft sponge li...