Project Numerical and/or experimental analysis of fluid and structure interactive tribological problems Program Engineering Term Academic Year 2024 Status Accepted Research Area Fluid dynamics, CFD, experimental fluid dynamics, tribology Description Tribology is a discipline that studies friction, lubrication, and wear. These topics affect the energy efficiency and life expectancy of all machines with moving parts. For example, the energy losses (friction, leakage) in the tribological interface of hydraulic pumps and motors waste about 1% of the energy consumed in the US and contribute to an additional 2.5% of greenhouse gas emissions. Tribological interfaces are formed by two solid bodies separated by a lubricant film that is a few microns thick. Therefore, any motion or deformation of the solid body will affect the fluid dynamics of the lubricant film. Supervisor Lizhi Shang Mentor Lizhi Shang Type of work required At Maha Fluid Power Research Center, we have developed the most advanced thermal fluid and structure interactive model to simulate these tribology problems in fluid power applications. Additionally, we recently acquired a customized tribology test rig to experimentally study the tribological effects and validate our model in challenging operating conditions.
I’m looking for students to contribute to any of the following four topics:
1) Numerical analysis of cutting-edge high-efficiency hydrostatic machine concepts.
2) Experimental and numerical analysis of tribological behavior under mixed lubrication regime.
3) Lumped parameter modeling for noise and vibration mitigation purposes.
4) Development of a simulation tool.
Websites https://engineering.purdue.edu/Maha/ Qualifications Familiarity with C++, MATLAB, Reading CAD models Some coursework related to Fluid Mechanics. Credit Hours 6 Weekly Hours 18 (estimated)