2020 Interface - Nanoscale Tailoring of Tribological Interfaces for Reduced Environmental Impact
Project duration
2009 - 2013
Project Category
international
Contact Information
Partners
- University of Leeds (United Kingdom)
- Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da Universidade de Coimbra (Portugal)
- University of Ljubljana (Slovenia)
- University of Groningen (The Netherlands)
- Jozef Stefan Institute (Slovenia)
- Sulzer DLC Coatings NV (France)
- Lubrizol Ltd (United Kingdom)
- Volvo Technology Corporation (Sweden)
- SKF (The Netherlands)
Development of a new automotive power train system, which comprises functionalised diamond-like carbon (DLC) coatings and future generation lubricant, is aimed to enable the Europe’s stretching targets in fuel economy and durability to be met. 2020 Interface brings together a world class consortium of 4 Universities, 1 research institute and 4 leading multinational companies from 8 EU countries.
Durability and friction control in internal combustion engines are currently assured by a complex package of lubricant additives in fully formulated engine oil. These oil additives, through tribochemical interaction with the surface, produce nanostructured, composite, self-healing and smart tribofilms at the surface. 2020 Interface involves the design of the complete system; functionalised Diamond-Like Carbon (DLC) coating and future generation lubricant, to enable the Europe’s stretching targets in fuel economy and durability to be met. There has been much emphasis in research on designing new coatings technology such that the degree of complexity of surface systems has increased dramatically over the last decade. An interfacial nano-structured film, which results from tribochemical interactions between the surface and the lubricant additives, is the one that dictates the system performance in the boundary lubricated contacts. No attempts have been made to incorporate “design” strategies into optimizing this interface and 2020 Interface tackles this through an interdisciplinary integrated experimental and theoretical approach. The benefits of this approach are accrued from substantial improved fuel economy (protection of natural resources), reduced emissions (protection of the environment) and improved durability (lower waste and maintenance). As the number of vehicles in the globe increases year after year without showing signs of reaching a plateau and the internal combustion engine remains the major platform for power train for the foreseeable future, the impact of this project will be large and long lasting. 2020 Interface brings together a world class consortium of 4 Universities, 1 research institute and 4 leading multinational companies from 8 EU countries together in complete supply chain to deliver fast track radical innovation in nanoscience through to a full set of novel lubrication technology platforms, for commercial applications in diesel and gasoline power-trains.