engineering

Tribology & Friction Science

The science of friction, wear, and lubrication — coefficient of friction modeling, wear rate prediction, lubrication regime transitions, surface roughness analysis, and bearing design optimization.

tribologyfrictionwearlubricationsurface roughnessbearingsmechanical engineering

Tribology is the interdisciplinary science of interacting surfaces in relative motion, encompassing friction, wear, and lubrication. Founded as a formal discipline by the 1966 Jost Report, tribology integrates mechanics, materials science, chemistry, and fluid dynamics to solve problems that cost the global economy an estimated 1.5% of GDP annually through friction losses and component wear.

These simulations let you calculate friction coefficients across material pairs, predict wear rates under varying loads, explore lubrication regime transitions via Stribeck curves, analyze surface roughness parameters, and optimize bearing designs — all with real-time interactive controls and engineering-grade models.

5 interactive simulations

simulator

Journal Bearing Design & Optimization

Design and optimize hydrodynamic journal bearings — calculate film thickness, eccentricity, power loss, and temperature rise using Sommerfeld number analysis

simulator

Friction Coefficient & Contact Mechanics

Calculate static and kinetic friction coefficients for various material pairs — explore the effects of normal load, surface energy, contact area, and sliding velocity on friction behavior

simulator

Lubrication Regimes & Stribeck Curve

Explore the Stribeck curve — simulate the transition from boundary to mixed to hydrodynamic lubrication as a function of viscosity, speed, load, and surface roughness

simulator

Surface Roughness & Texture Analysis

Analyze surface roughness parameters — simulate Ra, Rq, Rsk, and Rku for different manufacturing processes and explore their effect on contact mechanics and functional performance

simulator

Wear Rate & Archard Equation

Predict material wear rate using the Archard wear model — explore effects of normal load, sliding distance, hardness, and wear coefficient on volume loss and component lifetime