Tribology Laboratory |
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Research Assistant Contacts:
Many future space technologies require improved bearings and lubricants. The space environment has temperature extremes (high and low), vacuum, and ultraviolet radiation. Solid lubricant coatings such as MoS2 and MoS2/Ti are commonly used in space. However, these coatings are known to work best in extremely clean environments such as vacuum and perform rather modestly in the humid air environment of earth. This is particularly problematic as the space components are assembled and tested extensively for functionality on earth in a terrestrial environment prior to launch, and have to accommodate loads, motion, and vibrations that occur during launch prior to being deployed and operated in the space environment. The ideal tribological system will perform well in all these environments.
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