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Welcome to the Materials Tribology Laboratory. Our lab is part of the Mechanical Engineering Department at the University of Delaware. We are located on the third floor (room 333) of Spencer Laboratory and across Academy street from the Center for Composite Materials.

Introduction to Tribology

Tribology is defined as the science and technology of interacting surfaces in relative motion and the related matters; it is broadly described as the study of lubrication, friction and wear.  Moving mechanical systems are littered with tribological components and the economic losses associated with friction and wear are enormous.  Improved lubrication strategies are critical to our national goals of green engineering and energy sustainability. Click here for more on tribology.

Laboratory Research Overview

Our research lies at the intersection of materials science and mechanical engineering in the area of materials tribology. Our investigations target the fundamentals interactions of contacting surfaces; the difficulty in accessing the buried tribological interface is a pervasive challenge. Laboratory activities are diverse and include design of novel experimental techniques, development and characterization of nanocomposite and hierarchically structured materials, microscale and macroscale tribometry, wear modeling and life prediction. Our research efforts address the challenges of operation in extreme and remote environments; examples include space-flight, remote military missions, biological systems, IC engines, high-power wind turbines and MEMS/NEMS.

Student Positions Available

We are currently seeking one Ph.D student to study the fundamentals of low friction and one M.S. student to study cartilage tribology. We also have research experiences available for undergraduates. Interested students should contact Dr. Burris.

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• College of Engineering  •  Dept. of Mechanical Engineering   •   Newark, DE 19716  •   USA
  room 336  •   Phone: 302-831-2006  •   E-mail: dlburris@udel.edu  •  © 2008

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