Perfecting Motion®

This month’s episode talks about increasingly integrating sustainability into core business strategies, setting clear targets for greenhouse gas reductions, and publicly reporting on their progress. Joining us we have Pang Lin Ong, a longtime member of the STLE CLS committee member, and current Business Growth Manager at Infineum. Pang looks at efforts to develop more sustainable products and focus on using renewable feedstocks, extending product lifespan through advanced formulations, and improving recycling and reuse practices. While challenges remain, especially in the realm of grease disposal, the industry is actively collaborating to find solutions for lubrication, demonstrating a strong commitment to a low-carbon future.

This month's episode talks about the often-overlooked world of friction, wear, and lubrication in aerospace.  Discussing the importance of tribology in space travel, we have former NASA Senior Tribology Technologist, and current University of Akron Mechanical Engineering Professor, Dr. Christopher DellaCorte.  Also on our panel, former Air Force Research Laboratory Nanoelectric Materials and Process Research Team Leader, and current Associate Dean for Research at the University of North Texas, Dr. Andrey Voevodin.  We'll dive into the changing landscape of space with the emergence of private industries versus traditional government run entities.  Finally, we will consider where we have been and where we are going as humans continue to follow their desire to explore the stars.  Join us as we discuss the ingenious materials, coatings, and lubricants that ensure a frictionless ride into the sky and to the future.

Also, be prepared for Aerospace Tribology technical sessions at our 2025 Annual Meeting in Atlanta.  These will showcase presentations on tribological advancements related to both astronautical and aeronautical applications. These applications function under conditions very different from those on earth, requiring innovative solutions to tribological challenges. As human exploration extends from low earth orbit to the lunar surface to the depths of space, tribology research tailored to aerospace applications will become increasingly important.  Check in with https://www.stle.org/annualmeeting for more information on the 2025 Annual Meeting. 

This month’s episode focuses on engine lubricant testing methods.  We consider what drives engine test methods, types of tests, why we do them, and why we worry about them.  The discussion also goes into the differences between diesel and gasoline engines along with the special test fuel used for them.  Hosting this podcast is STLE board member Bill Anderson from Afton Chemical.  He is joined by guests Robert Warden and Patrick Lang both from the Southwest Research Institute.

For feedback, or if you are interested in working with us on a podcast, please visit STLE Podcast Survey. 

Join us for our first episode in a series we call Titans of Tribology.   For this installment, and fresh off receiving the Raymond Thibault Award at the 2024 STLE Annual Meeting, we interview STLE member Doug Sackett.   Doug discusses his unlikely journey into the field of tribology, some mentors and their advice from along the way, and how STLE helped shape and guide him to success in his career. 

STLE Membership Director Julie O'Rouke sits down with STLE president Hong Liang, incoming STLE president Jack McKenna, and STLE Treasurer Steffon Bots to talk about the benefits that come with an STLE membership.   The group discusses what it means to be an STLE member, how their membership has advanced their careers, and reflects on the mentors they have met along the way that could have only been facilitated by being a part of the STLE community.

In Episode 13 of this podcast series we continue STLE's celebration of women in tribology.  Our executive director, Rebecca Lintow, interviews members Mandi McElwain and Fran Lockwood on their contributions and challenges as women in the field of tribology.  For more information on Women in Tribology, please visit your March 2024 edition of TLT for more great content.

Contributors: Mandi McElwain, Senior Sales Account Manager, Univar Solutions; Rebecca Lintow, Executive Director, STLE; Fran Lockwood, President, Solar Energy Solutions LLC.

In Episode 12 of this podcast series, we explored tribology testing and how it can be used to improve sustainability.  In this Episode, we explore the use of rheology testing for the same purpose. Rheology is the study of the deformation and flow of solids and liquids. Rheology has applications in materials science, human biology, pharmaceutics, engineering, food science and geophysics, to name just a few. The use of rheology has a huge potential for improved sustainability and in this Episode we will talk about a few of these areas.

Contributors: Dr. Peter Lee, FSTLE, Institute Engineer and Chief Tribologist, Southwest Research Institute, Kartik Pondicherry, Principal Scientist and Product Manager, Anton Paar GmbH, Carlos Sanchez, Senior Research Engineer, Southwest Research Institute

The role of tribology in facilitating the move to sustainability does not just involve reducing friction and wear in industrial machinery and automobiles, but also is critical in gaining a better understanding of what we eat and what steps can be taken to improve the availability of healthier foods. This episode focuses on the topic of chocolate and research that is ongoing to better understand how this food is eaten and how tribology is used to better understand this process. A discussion is held with Dr. Siavash Soltanahmadi, Research Fellow at the University of Leeds (UK), who describes ongoing research trying to better understand the process of eating dark chocolate. When eating a piece of chocolate, an enjoyable sensation is felt due to the creamy feel of this food which provides a textural sensation. In discussing the eating of chocolate, a phase transfer takes place as the solid chocolate transitions into a molten fat phase followed by introduction of saliva, leading to the formation of an emulsion as digestion is initiated. Through a series of studies using a tongue-like surface, oral tribology is used to better understand the eating process. From this work, a multiscale tribology-informed smart design of chocolate is proposed that uses a gradient technology to retain the pleasurable eating sensation, but reduces the fat content of chocolate, leading to a healthier food.

Contributors: Dr. Neil Canter, STLE Advisor, Technical Programs and Services, Dr. Siavash Soltanahmadi, Research Fellow, University of Leeds, UK 

Tribology, the scientific study of lubrication, friction and wear, is as old as the world itself and can be found in almost every application. The word itself was not entered into the English dictionary until 1966 at the time of The Jost Report. The use of tribology to solve friction and wear problems through the life cycle of a product from manufacture, use and recycling can be used to improve sustainability. This podcast looks at how tribology testing can be used to improve sustainability, and benchtop rigs can be used to scale down full-size application and achieve usable realistic results that can then be scaled back up for real-life applications.

Contributors: Dr. Peter Lee, FSTLE, Institute Engineer and Chief Tribologist, Southwest Research Institute, George Plint, Director, Phoenix Tribology Ltd., and Dr. Dirk Drees, CEO, Falex Tribology Belgium

The search for finding a way to commercialize vehicles that generate no emissions has led the automotive industry to work with batteries and fuel cells. But another approach is to take the basic internal combustion engine (ICE) and substitute hydrogen as a fuel for both gasoline and diesel fuel. This podcast examines the potential for hydrogen internal combustion engines. In this engine, hydrogen reacts with oxygen in the air as part of a combustion process, but the only byproduct is water. The initial results are quite favorable. Without the use of hydrocarbon fuels, the ICE runs much cleaner and the motor oil used is not impacted. The motor oil looks as pristine as when it was initially put in the engine. There is the potential for the motor oil to last at least 50,000 miles. The conclusion from this podcast is that hydrogen not only has the potential to be a short-term answer to reduce automotive emissions but could also be a long-term solution.

Contributors: Dr. Neil Canter, STLE Advisor, Technical Programs and Services, Mike Copeland, Owner and CEO, Arrington Performance