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  6. Macrotribology and Wear Protection

In the Macrotribology and Wear Protection division, we investigate technological and process innovations relating to friction and wear. This concerns socially and macroeconomically relevant topics such as resource, energy and material efficiency. We also examine the conservation of resources through the reduction of friction and the use of ecotoxicologically acceptable lubricants (biofuels and biolubes) – including those based on renewable raw materials – as well as those that use hydrogen or methane as energy sources.

Testing prerequisites and material-related and lubrication-related solutions needed to achieve these goals are established in cooperation with national and international partners to further technological development.
This is because human toxicological and ecotoxicological regulations necessitate the provision of a growing number of substitutes for well-established, high-performance materials, coatings and lubricants.

The findings of our research are applied to international standardisation.

Publications

  • Fields of expertise

    • Testing under extreme operating conditions (extreme contact stress, cryo and high temperatures, hot steam, fretting, hydrogen as energy source)
    • Development of novel tribometric methods from micro to macroscales, including the engineering of devices and the international standardisation and reference materials for these
    • Determination of friction and wear characteristics for material pairs, thin coatings, lubricants and additives
    • Study of tribologically related failure and damage
    • Coordination of the development of alternative materials and lubricants

  • Main activities

    • Testing under extreme operating conditions (extreme low & high temperatures, small to highest Hertzian contact stresses, hot steam application)
    • All material categories (steels, polymers, ceramics, hardmetals), thermo-chemical treatments and thin coatings as well as solid lubricants
    • “Zero” wear together with quantification and tribological analysis at asperity scale
    • Design and construction of tribological testing apparatus
    • TRIDAS - Tribological Data Archiving System
    • Simulation of tribological material behaviour

  • Range of services/technical equipment

    • Over 20 tribometers for dry and lubricated conditions at:
      - Extreme low temperatures down to a minimum of 269 °C or high temperatures up to a maximum of 1,000 °C or 1,420 °C
      - Oscillating sliding movements (0.1 Hz to 5,000 Hz or 40 kHz)
      - Slip-rolling resistance up to P0max 4,200 MPa
      - Vacuum environment or hot steam
    • Laboratory with safety equipment for reactive substances (hydrogen, natural gas) and cryogenic and liquefied gases

  • Publications of the division

    In the database PUBLICA you will find publications by BAM employees.

    Publications of the division Macrotribology and Wear Protection in PUBLICA

    PUBLICA

Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Heinz Sturm, Head of Department Materials Protection and Surface Technology, Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung (BAM)

Contact Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Heinz Sturm

Head of Division 6.3

Headquarters

Phone: +49 30 8104-1690

Email

Researcher ID