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The term tribo-fatigue is defined in Interstate Standard GOST 30638–99 as a science of wear-fatigue damage and fracture of active systems of machines and equipment. Tribo-fatigue made an arduous way during 15 years after this term was first published to become acknowledged. I would like to tell briefly about the stages of its progress and about some events I was involved in.
In
1995 I was invited to a meeting to talk about tribo-fatigue. A condensed text
was published in 1996 under the heading “Tribo-fatigue is and will be at the
service of the people” [1] that is reproduced below When the term tribo-fatigue became
public in 1986 (it happened in Minsk) initially, it did not provoke any emotions.
A stormy discussion took place in 1990 at the all-union
scientific conference in Gomel. Specialists from famous research centers of the
Soviet Union were anxious to verify what kind of science tribo-fatigue was. Is it just a
new scientific trend? Most
of the participants of the International Tribo-fatigue Symposium in 1993 (Gomel,
Belarus) had already some first-hand knowledge of tribo-fatigue and for many it
had become their domain of research. However, for some scientists and engineers
the word “tribo-fatigue” sounded quite new. Thus, the discussion whether it
is a science or not is still going on. I would like to say that it is an earnest problem and its solution is not a toy in the hands of theoreticians. In my view, it is a matter of primary importance for machine building, in the first place. To prove this statement I would like to refer to recent events and... battles. Studies
of the processes of friction and wear continue uninterrupted globally, including
studies of the role of lubrication between contacting solid bodies. The leading
role in these studies belongs to the so-called complex studies, i.e.
tribological studies. All three processes are studied in their integrity, or as
a complex. What do they yield? Professor Jost (UK) noted specifically what science had to pay for the battle against the new tendencies. He writes that initially tribology was scorned because of its versatility. This scornful attitude inhibited directly the progress of research and development in machine building; heavy expenses to reduce friction and wear together with their consequences cost hugely… Only in Great Britain 5,5 million pounds (the assessment of 1965) could have been saved had tribology been regarded with more respect. Now it is believed that due respect of tribology could have saved from 1.3 to 1.6% of the General National Product. It is the scale of losses only within one country! The
fundamentals of tribo-fatigue have been developed in our country. It studies the
regularities of wear-fatigue damage. It has been reported repeatedly that this
damage causes 70, 80 and even 90% of premature failures of modern machinery and
equipment. It is tribo-fatigue that discovers new effective ways of controlling
and preventing damage. Just think! engineers
in the whole world (including us) have been trying to devise methods of
combating wear aiming at the so-called wearless friction; specialists in
tribo-fatigue have established that wear, on the contrary, is needed in many
essential cases to increase the durability of an active system. This approach
leads both to creating more reliable machines and to huge economic savings. Instead
of combating wear there is a different tendency of battling against
tribo-fatigue. There are appeals to stop financing tribo-fatigue research, expel
it from universities, exclude it from major subjects, to stop designing machines
for wear-fatigue tests... In
this connection I would like to recall how Francis Bacon cherished science
dearly. He wrote that if science by itself had not yielded any profits, it could
not be called useless just because it would sharpen our mind and put it in order.
It is the purpose of science in our time to serve people. That is the view of
Leo Tolstoy. We cannot but share this view. And we have no doubt that
tribo-fatigue is already and will be at the service of people... ...What
is tribo-fatigue essentially? Some
tribologists claim that tribo-fatigue is a new scientific trend in tribology,
and they are right in part. In part because only one side of the medal is taken
into account, namely, the effect of cyclic loading on variations of friction and
wear characteristics. Exactly this side of the medal corresponds to the
long-lasting ideas and traditional scientific views of an “inveterate
tribologist”. On the
contrary, when some specialists in strength assert that tribo-fatigue is a new
trend in the mechanics of fatigue fracture, I believe that they are also right
in part. In part because they take into account only one side (naturally the
reverse versus tribologists) of the medal, namely, the effect of friction and
wear processes on variations of fatigue resistance characteristics. Exactly this
reverse side corresponds to the long-lasting ideas and traditional scientific
views of a “inveterate strength specialist”. If the
cognitive psychological barrier separating narrow specialists is crossed, and
both sides of the medal are viewed in their inseparable entity, then two new
scientific trends have appeared at the junction between tribology and the
mechanics of fatigue fracture, that have been combined dialectically and
generated grounds for tribo-fatigue as a new science. As any other science,
tribo-fatigue has its own object of study (active systems), its own methods of
studies (wear-fatigue tests), its own models and criteria (complex indicators of
wear-fatigue damage). While supported by tribology, the mechanics of fatigue
fracture, reliability of mechanical systems, it does not minimize their
significance as parents of tribo-fatigue and just proves the vitality and power
of the new science. Remember that Isaac Newton said that we would see farther
because we stand on the shoulders of the giants. Specialists in tribo-fatigue
have already demonstrated that they see farther than others.
3
Essential stages in the progress of tribo-fatigue Below
is a brief enumeration of events that, in my view, have been essential for the
progress of tribo-fatigue [2, 3].
At
present the results have been obtained in the sphere of tribo-fatigue that the
II International Symposium rated as most important. Below some achievements are
listed:
In
October of 2000 scientists from many countries at the III International
Tribo-fatigue Symposium (China, Beijing) evaluated the state of its progress
during 15 years [19]. A summary monograph [20] written by specialists from
Belarus, Russia, Ukraine and China is published. I will make a brief quotation
from the foreword. “Five of us participated at
the III International Tribo-fatigue Symposium in Beijing (October 2000) and made
our presentations there. The other five both made presentations and had been
busy organizing two preceding symposia. Though our presentations seemed often as
individual, our task was common: to contribute with our research to the progress
of tribo-fatigue. We have integrated our results and we believe that we have
obtained an entity that is now called tribo-fatigue. It is rather hard to write a
monograph when there are six authors and they are separated by huge distances,
still it was a relatively enjoyable task: we were inspired by the problem that,
in our view, has paramount significance for modern machine building ”. The
tribo-fatigue bibliography during 1995–2000 [21] includes only the publications that basically relate to
the research in Gomel and tribo-fatigue R&D accomplished in Belarus. The
list contains over 200 scientific works authored by almost 70 scientists and
engineers from over 50 institutions. Thus,
it can be asserted that tribo-fatigue is a new vigorously developing part of
mechanics.
The
prospects were outlined at the II International tribo-fatigue
symposium
(Moscow, 1996) [22]. (À)
The progress of tribo-fatigue will be determined theoretically by new more
profound insight into the basic regularities of wear-fatigue damage, the
conditions governing the limiting state of active systems and the search for new
principles and methods of predicting durability and preventing emergencies in
operation of essential and intricate technical systems. (Â)
The progress of tribo-fatigue practically leads to transition from designing
individual units of machines and equipment to designing service life of active
systems, so a complex of methods of controlling wear-fatigue damage of specific
active systems is to be developed and introduced to reduce labour cost, to save
means and materials in production and operation of modern machinery while
strengthening its durability. (Ñ)
Concerning improvement of testing equipment, the progress of tribo-fatigue leads
to development and introduction of new methods and processes of wear-fatigue
tests, including shortcut tests, and, therefore, to the development of a new
class of testing equipment. (D) Concerning
development of standard and engineering base, the progress of tribo-fatigue
leads to development and introduction of a complex of standards of methods of
wear-fatigue tests in order to formulate and solve in future the problem of
certification of active systems using the most essential criteria of their
serviceability. (Å)
Concerning training specialists, the progress of tribo-fatigue leads to the need
of teaching the course of the “Fundamentals of tribo-fatigue” to students
majoring in machine building (dynamics, strength and wear resistance of machines,
instruments and equipment); it is time to train students and researchers in this
sphere as well. (F)
concerning
research, the progress of tribo-fatigue leads to development and export of
hitech products (new and hitech methods of tests, fundamentally new testing
equipment, new standards). This
list of prospects in the sphere of tribo-fatigue needs just one explanation and
addition. The
explanation is that in 2002 five Ph. D. theses and one doctorship thesis dealing
with tribo-fatigue were prepared. The Belarusian State University of Transport
is publishing the first manual “Fundamentals of Tribo-fatigue” [23] for students of higher technical schools; it is supplemented with a
laboratory practical course [24] and an assignment for designing [25]. Hence the problem of scientific procedures and training qualified
specialists in the new and promising domain of knowledge is being successfully
solved. Furthermore,
the promising methods of tribo-fatigue have been recently applied to the
analysis of biological objects and humans specifically [18]. Life is considered as a specific way of damage accumulation; principles
of its quantitative assessment in dialectics have been developed. Tribo-fatigue
thus becomes useful in the humanitarian sphere.
We
have been eye witnessing the integration of individual sciences into a new, more
common integral discipline. It is another example of the current day evolution
of science characterized by the tendencies towards integration: from particular
to general. The
IV International Tribo-fatigue Symposium in Ternopil (September, 2002) will
probably decide when and where the V International Tribo-fatigue Symposium will
take place. I would like to wish its participants a fruitful work at the next
symposium.
I
would like to express my sincere appreciation of discussions of the problems of
tribo-fatigue research I had to many scientists, engineers and organizers of
science, particularly the Russian Academician K V Frolov, the corresponding member
of the Russian Academy of Science N A Makhutov, the Ukrainian academician
V T Troshchenko, the Belarusian Academician
M S Vysotsky, Professor L A Sosnovskiy.
[1]
Authors: Vysotsky M C, Frolov K V, Troshchenko V T, and others. Ed. by A
V Bogdanovich, Some words about tribo-fatigue. (Essays). Gomel, Minsk, Moscow,
Kiev, “Remika”,
1996. (in Russian). [2]
Elovoy O M, First steps of tribo-fatigue. Gomel, 1996. (in Russian). [3]
Kukharev A V, Some stages of progress of tribo-fatigue. Proc. of the III
int. symp. on tribo-fatigue, Hunan University Press, Beijing, 2000. [4]
Sosnovskiy L A, Complex assessment of the reliability of active systems.
Minsk, 1986. (in Russian). [5]
Sosnovskiy L A, Complex assessment of the reliability of active systems
using the criteria of fatigue and wear resistance. ByelIIZhT, Gomel, 1988. (in
Russian). [6]
Sosnovskiy L A, Tribo-fatigue: problems and prospects. ByelIIZhT, Gomel,
1989. (in Russian). [7]
Sosnovskiy L A, Problems of complex assessment
of damage and limiting state of active systems. Basic terms. ByelIIZhT,
Gomel, 1990. (in Russian). [8]
Frolov K V, Sosnovskiy L A, Makhutov N A, Drozdov Yu N, Tribo-fatigue:
new ideas in the promising direction. Gomel, 1990. (in Russian). [9]
Friction. Wear. Fatigue. Ed. by L A Sosnovskiy, Proc. int. symp. on
tribo-fatigue, Gomel, 1993. (in Russian). [10]
Makhutov N A, Sosnovskiy L A, Bogdanovich A V, Andropov P V, Marchenko A
V, Tyurin S A, Methods of wear-fatigue tests and their implementation with a SI
testing machine. Zavodskaya Laboratoriya, 1995, No. 6. (in Russian). [11]
Indman N L, Ozhigar G P, Sosnovskiy L A, Constructional features of SI
machine. Zavodskaya Laboratoriya, 1995, No. 6. (in Russian). [12]
Rozhdestvensky A yu, Kovalev V V, Elovoy O M, Belits F Yu, Control and
measuring system of SI machine. Zavodskaya Laboratoriya, 1995, No. 6. (in
Russian). [13] ÑÒÁ
994–95.
Tribo-fatigue. Terms and definitions. BelStandard, Minsk, 1995. [14] Tribo-fatigue-95.
Annual edition. Ed. by M Vysotsky, Sci. Prod.
Group “Tribofatigue”, Gomel, 1996. (in
Russian). [15]
Sosnovskiy L A, Four-language dictionary of terms. Ed. by L A Sosnovskiy,
Sci. Prod. Group “Tribofatigue”, Minsk, Gomel, 1996. (in
Russian). [16] Theses of papers of II Intern. Symp. on tribo-fatigue. Ed. by V A Andriyashin and others, “SPAS”– Sci. Prod. Group “Tribofatigue”, Moscow, Gomel, 1996. (in Russian). [17] GOST 30638–99. Tribo-fatigue. Terms and definitions. (Interstate Standard). Interstate Standardization, metrology and certification board, Minsk, 1999. [18] Sosnovskiy L A, Tribo-fatigue: on dialectics of life. Sci. Prod. Group “Tribofatigue”, Gomel, 1999. (in Russian). [19] Proc. of III int. symp. on tribo-fatigue. Ed. by Gao Wanzhen and Li Jian, Hunan University Press, Beijing, 2000. [20] Sosnovskiy L A, Troshchenko V T, Makhutov N A, Gao Wanzhen, Bogdanovich A V, Shcherbakov S S, Wear-fatigue damage and its prediction (tribo-fatigue). Gomel, Kiev, Moscow – Uhan, 2001. (in Russian). [21] Bibliography of tribo-fatigue publications. Ed. by T Eseva, S Tyurin, Int. tribo-fatigue coordinating board, Sc. Prod. Group “Tribofatigue”, Gomel, 2001. (in Russian). [22] Resolutions of II int. symp. on tribo-fatigue. Sci. Prod. Group “Tribofatigue”, Gomel, 1996. (in Russian). [23] Sosnovskiy L A, Fundamentals of tribo-fatigue. (Manual). Bel. University of Transport, (in press), Gomel, 2002. (in Russian). [24] Bogdanovich A V, and others, A laboratory practical course, part 1. Bel. University of Transport, (in press), Gomel, 1999. (in Russian). [25] Bogdanovich A V, Elovoy O M, Sosnovskiy L A, Assessment of reliability of simple crakshaft: textbook. Bel. University of Transport, (in press), Gomel, 2002. (in Russian).
Presentation
at the
4th
International Tribo-fatigue
Symposium (2002, Ternopol, Ukraine). |
