The NSERC/General Motors of Canada/University of Windsor Industrial Research Chair (IRC) in Tribology of Lightweight Materials focuses on understanding and improving the friction and wear behavior of lightweight materials, like aluminum, magnesium and their composites and developing novel coatings to protect them against wear. In addition to experimental studies, theoretical studies are carried out, via mathematical modeling and computational simulations, to understand tribological phenomena at the microscopic and atomic level.
Overall these research programs contribute to the development of new technologies to help industrial designers select materials, design systems and utilize components that are more resistant to wear, yet easier to machine, which is vital to metal processing and manufacturing industries, including automotive manufacturers. Research is conducted in the Tribology of Materials Laboratories under direction of the chair holder, Dr. Ahmet T. Alpas, professor in the Faculty of Engineering at the Department of Mechanical, Automotive, & Materials Engineering.
An important objective of the Research Chair is to develop collaborative programs to transfer new technologies to automotive and manufacturing industries. Since its establishment, the research team has grown with three new tenure-track faculty members in the fields of manufacturing of advanced protective coatings (Dr. Xueyuan Nie), computational surface science (Dr. Vesselin Stoilov) and nanotribology (Dr. Afsaneh Edrisy). The NSERC/General Motors of Canada/University of Windsor IRC provides a stimulating environment for training highly qualified personnel for Canadian industry.
recent publications
Dry and Minimum Quantity Lubrication Drilling of a Magnesium (AM60) Alloy
Bhowmick S., Lukitsch M., Alpas A.T.International Journal of Machine Tools & Manufacture, 50, 2010, 444-457.
Microstructural Evolution during High Temperature Sliding Wear of Mg-3%Al-1%Zn (AZ31) Alloy
Das S., Morales A.T., Alpas A.T.Wear, 268, 2010, 94-103.
Indentation-Induced Subsurface Damage in Silicon Particles of Al-Si Alloys
Bhattacharya S., Riahi A.R., Alpas A.T.Materials Science and Engineering A 572, 2009, 387-396.
Nanocrystalline Nickel Films with Lotus Leaf Texture for Superhydrophobic and Low Friction Surfaces
Shafiei M., Alpas A.T.Applied Surface Science, 256, 2009, 710-719.
Surface Stability and Electronic Structure of Hydrogen and Fluorine Terminated Diamond Surfaces: A First Principles Investigation
Sen F.G., Qi Y., Alpas A.T.Journal of Materials Research, 24, 2009, 2461-2470.
Micromechanisms of Low Load Wear in an Al-18.5% Si Alloy
Dey S.K., Perry T.A., Alpas A.T.Wear, 267, 2009, 515-524.
Effect of Magnesium Content on the High Temperature Adhesion of Al-Mg Alloys to Steel Surfaces
Riahi A.R., Edrisy A., Alpas A.T.Surface & Coatings Technology, 203, 2009, 2030-2035.
Micromechanisms and Mechanics of Ultra-Mild Wear in Al-Si Alloys
Chen M., Meng-Burany X., Perry T.A., Alpas A.T.Acta Materialia, 56, 2008, 5605-5616.
Minimum Quantity Lubrication Drilling of Aluminum-Silicon Alloys in Water Using Diamond-Like Carbon Coated Drills
Bhowmick S., Alpas A.T.International Journal of Machine Tools & Manufacture, 48, 2008, 1429-1443.
Deformation Behaviour of Aluminium during Machining: Modelling by Eulerian and Smoothed-Particle Hydrodynamics Methods
Akarca S.S., Song X., Altenhof W.J., Alpas A.T.Materials: Design and Applications, 222, 2008, 209-221.
