Agnieszka Karpinska

a.karpinska@imperial.ac.uk

Current project: Running-in and the Evolution of Metallic Surfaces Subjected to Sliding and Rolling Contact

Background
Agnieszka Karpinska has received her M.Sc. (Eng) degree in Chemical Technology in 2004 from the Warsaw University of Technology, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Mechanics and Petrochemistry in Plock in Poland. Thesis title: "Some mechanistic aspects of heterogeneous catalysis". Supervisor: Prof. C. Kajdas

After graduating, she worked for 2 years as a research scientist in Research and Development Centre for Petroleum Industry in Plock, in Anticorrosion Group.

Currently, she is a research assistant and a PhD student in Tribology Group in Imperial College London, Mechanical Engineering Department. Her work is funded by the European Commission 6th Framework Programme under contract no MRTN-CT-2006-035589 (WEMESURF RTN).

Journal Articles
Karpinska A., Kajdas C., Hiratsuka K. "On Hydrogen Generation During Tribo-degradation of Organic Compounds", Tribologia 210 (6/2006) 21-37

Kajdas C., Karpinska A. "Mechanism of Tribocatalytic Formic Acid Decomposition", Tribologia 200 (2/2005) 125-141

Kajdas C., Hiratsuka K., Borkowska A. "Catalysis and Tribocatalysis", Tribologia 194 (2/2004) 11-25

Presentations at International Conferences
Karpinska, A., Olver, A.V. "Influence of Anti-Wear Additives on Surface Conformity Development During Running-in of Steel Surfaces", World Tribology Congress, 6-11/09/2009, Kyoto, Japan

Tomala, A., Karpinska, A., Werner, W.S.M., Olver, A.V., Stoeri, H. "Tribological Properties of Additives for Water-based Lubricants", 36th Leeds-Lyon Symposium on Tribology, 1-4/09/2009, Lyon, France

Hao, Q., Karpinska, A., Kaestner, M., Reithmeier, E. "Precise Calculation of Wear Based on Comparison of Initial and Worn Surface Topographies", 12th International Conference on Metrology & Properties of Engineering Surfaces, 8-10/07/2009, Rzeszow, Poland (poster)

Karpinska, A., Olver, A.V., Hao, Q. "The Effect of Anti-wear Additives and Surface Roughness Layout on Running-in of Steel Surfaces", 2nd European Conference on Tribology ECOTRIB, 7-10/06/2009, Pisa, Italy

Karpinska, A., Proprentner, D., Olver, A.V., Ewins, D. "Challenges of Investigating Running-in", 64th STLE Annual Meeting & Exhibition, 17-21/05/2009, Orlando, USA

Karpinska, A. "Weird Science? Communicating Tribology", Marie Curie Workshop on ESOF, 17/07/2008, Barcelona, Spain (poster)

Karpinska, A., Kajdas, C. "Decomposition Mechanisms of Formic Acid Under Friction Conditions", 15th International Colloquium Tribology 2006, Automotive and Industrial Lubrication, 17-19/01/2006, Stuttgart/Ostfildern, Germany

Karpinska, A., Kajdas, C., Hiratsuka, K. "On Hydrogen Generation During Tribo-degradation of Organic Compounds", IV International Conference on Tribochemistry, 3-5/10/2005, Krakow, Poland

Kajdas, C., Karpinska, A. „On Mechanisms of Catalytic/Tribocatalytic Decomposition of Formic Acid", 4th ESF Nanotribology Workshop, 18-22/06/2005, Porquerolles, France

Kajdas, C., Borkowska, A. "Mechanism of formic acid decomposition on silver catalyst", XLVI PTChem and SITPChem Meeting, 15-18/09/2003, Lublin, Poland

Other Publications
Kajdas C., Karpinska A., Kulczycki A. "Industrial lubricants" in: "Chemistry and Technology of Lubricants, 3rd edition", Mortier, R.M., Fox, M.F., Orszulik, S.T. (eds.), Springer, due October 2009, ISBN: 978-1-4020-8661-8

Personal Interests
Communicating science (especially tribology http://tribologyiscool.blogspot.com) and teaching.
Learning languages, travelling, everything Japanese

 

 

Aikaterini Mavraki

a.mavraki01@imperial.ac.uk

Current Project: New Approaches to Synovial Joint Lubrication

Aikaterini is originally from Greece.  She obtained her PhD in Chemical Engineering at Imperial College London and is now a Research Associate in the Tribology group. 

• 1995-1998 B.Sc. in Physics at Queen Mary & Westfield College in London. 
• 1998-1999 M.Sc. in Radiation Physics with Medical Applications at UCL.
• 2000-2002 Technical Services Executive at IPSOS-UK.
• 2002-2006 Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering at Imperial College London. 
• Thesis title: "The Effects of Environment and Microstructure on the Mechanical Behaviour of Natural Fibres". Funded by EPSRC and Unilever R&D Port-Sunlight, UK.
• 2007-today Research Associate in the Tribology Group of Mechanical Engineering Department at Imperial College London.

Research Interests
Medical and biological applications of tribology

Publications
Mavraki, A. and Cann, P.M., 2009, "Lubricating film thickness measurements with bovine serum", Tribology International, (submitted).

Mavraki, A. and Cann, P. M., 2009, "Friction and Lubricant Film Thickness Measurements on Simulated Synovial Fluids", IMechE, Part J: J. Eng. Tribology, 223, 323-335

Chan, K.L.A, Kazarian, S. G., Mavraki, A., and Williams, D. R., 2005, "Fourier Transform Infrared Imaging of Human Hair with a High Spatial Resolution Without the use of a Synchrotron", Appl. Spectr., 59, 149-155

Conferences
Mavraki, A. and Cann, P. M., 2009, "Lubrication Properties of Simulated Synovial Fluid Constituents in Metal-on-Metal Tests", 3rd Int. Conf. Mechanics of Biomaterials and Tissues, December 13-17, Clearwater Beach, Florida, USA

Mavraki, A. and Cann, P. M., 2009, "Lubricating Film Thickness Measurements with Bovine Serum: Part II", Ecotrib, June 7-10, Pisa, Italy.

Mavraki, A. and Cann, P. M., 2008 "Lubricating Film Thickness Measurements with Bovine Serum: Part I", STLE/ASME IJTC, 123-125, October 20-22, Miami, Florida, USA

Mavraki, A. and Williams, D. R., 2004, "The Effect of Moisture on the Glass Transition Behaviour of Hair", 1st International Conference on Applied Hair Science, TRI, Princeton, NJ, USA (Winner of the Best Paper Award)

 

 

Aleks Ponjavic

aleks.ponjavic05@imperial.ac.uk

Current Project: Soft matter physics - Interfacial phenomena/confined fluids

Background
Aleks is originally from Sweden. He moved to London in order to obtain his MEng at Imperial College. After studying for half a year at Lund University, Sweden, he took up a PhD studentship in the Tribology group at Imperial College. He is currently working towards his degree under the supervision of Dr. Janet Wong and co-supervision of Dr. Daniele Dini.

• MEng: Imperial College London (2005 - 2009).
• PhD: Imperial College London (2009 - present).

Research Interests

• Soft matter physics.
• Molecular dynamics at liquid-solid interface.
• PIV and particle tracking.

 

 

Ales Kratky

a.kratky08@imperial.ac.uk

Current project: Fullerene-based Opportunities for Robust Engineering: Making Optimised Surfaces for Tribology

Background:

• From Otrokovice, The Czech Republic
• Master Degree in Chemistry and Material Technology
• Since 2008 PhD student at Imperial College

Research interests:
Friction and wear characteristics of inorganic fullerene-like materials

 

Alireza Hajishafiee

a.hajishafiee09@imperial.ac.uk

Current Project: CFD Modelling of Elastohydrodynamic Lubrication

Background
Alireza graduated with a bachelor degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Tehran (Iran) in 2007. In 2008, he graduated with a First Class Honours Masters degree in Mechanical Engineering from King's College London with a final project on the "Energy demand reduction through mixing optimisation by the means of PIV and CFD ". He is currently carrying out PhD research in the Tribology Group, Imperial College London under the supervision of Dr D. Dini and Dr T. Zaki. The project focus is on CFD modelling of EHL considering: different fluid properties, cavitation, solid deflection, surface roughness and transient study of EHL.

 

 

Anant Kolekar

a.kolekar08@imperial.ac.uk

Current project: Lubrication and Efficiency of Mechanical Transmission Systems in Road Vehicles

Academic & Professional Background
Anant is from Kolhapur- princely state of India. He has completed Master of Science in Automotive Engineering from Coventry University, UK. He has professional experience of more than 5 years in the field of research, design and development. He worked as Senior Design Engineer for 3 years with Dana Holding Corporation. He was part of design & development team to analyse and optimise Engine and Driveline connecting components. Before this he worked with HCL Technologies mainly in Aerospace domain.

As a professional recognition, he received trade secrete for unique procedure followed during product development and application is under consideration for Patent.

At present, he is a research postgraduate in Tribology group at Imperial College London under the supervision of Dr. Andrew Olver. Project is jointly funded by Valvoline, USA and Jyoti Chemicals & Engineers, India.

Research Interests

• Tribology
• Elasto-hydrodynamic lubrication (EHL)
• Oil Analysis
• Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) 
• Finite Element Analysis (FEA)

Extracurricular Activities
Anant enjoys playing Badminton, Table Tennis, Cricket and Chess. He was a Captain of the School and College team for Badminton and Cricket. He likes to watch Car and Bike racing, particularly Formula 1.
He was a member of World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and worked for increasing awareness in people towards nature.

Publications & Presentations
A. Kolekar, M. Anderson, D. Nash et al, "New Generation Oil Pan Modules," 2009-01-0346, SAE World Congress & Exhibition, 2009, Michigan, USA

A. Kolekar, "Multibody Simulation for Air ducts," Brazil Dana World CAE User Conference, 2008, Gravatai, Brazil

A. Kolekar, "CFD Analysis and Validation of Air ducts", Dana World CAE User Conference, 2007, Chicago, USA

A. Kolekar, "CFD Analysis of Drive Axle", Fluent Asia Pacific Users Group Meeting, 2006, Pune, India

A. Kolekar, "Sloshing Analysis of Oil Pan", Dana World CAE User Conference, 2006, Nashville, USA

A. Kolekar, "Analysis of Drive Axle Lubrication", Dana World CAE User Conference, 2006, Nashville, USA

A. Kolekar, J. Tamanna, "Multistage Pump Meshing and Analysis", Fluent Asia Pacific Users Group Meeting, 2005, Pune, India

A. Kolekar, J. Tamanna, "Analysis of Open Type Refrigerator Unit using Fluent", Fluent Asia Pacific Users Group Meeting, 2005, Pune, India

A. Kolekar, "Hybrid Vehicles- Case study for Toyota Prius & Honda Insight", 2nd National Level Conference on Mechanical Engineering, 2004, Chennai, India

A. Kolekar, "Reverse Engineering", Regional Level Conference on Mechanical Engineering, 2003, Kolhapur, India

 

Balasubramaniam Vengudusamy

b.vengudusamy07@imperial.ac.uk

Current project: Behaviour of lubricant additives on non-ferrous surfaces

Background
Bala is from Chennai, a southern city in India. He is a Mechanical Engineer with a masters' degree in Tribology obtained from Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad in India. He worked as scientist in Space Tribology Lab of Indian Space Research Organisation for 4 years and was involved in the study of friction behaviour of bearings used in space mechanisms, bearing cage dynamics, conducting tribological tests and analysis.

Research interests
Boundary lubrication, diamond-like carbon (DLC) coatings, friction evaluation and tribofilm characterization using AFM, surface analysis of DLC coatings and tribofilm using SEM/EDX, ToF-SIMS and FIB-SIMS, fault diagnostics of bearings and space tribology

Publications
Balasubramaniam, V., Spikes, H.A., Mufti, R., Lamb, G.D. and Green, J.H., 2009, "Characteristics of tribofilm formed from ZDDP and GMO on DLC/DLC contacts", Accepted for ADDITIVES April 2009

Balasubramaniam, V., Spikes, H.A., Mufti, R., Lamb, G.D. and Green, J.H., 2009, "Comparison of friction properties of DLC coatings in DLC/DLC contacts,"  STLE May 2009, Orlando, USA.

Balasubramaniam, V., Varghese G.V. and Krishna-Reddy, M, 2006, "Bearing cage dynamics in space application," Reddy -International Conference in Industrial Tribology, Nov 2006, Indian Institute of Science (IISC) Bangalore, India.

Balasubramaniam, V., Gireesh Sharma, N., Pai, N.G., Haridas, T.R., Sam Dayala Dev, Varghese, G.V., and Krishna Reddy, M., 2005, "Measurement and analysis of disturbance torques in MADRAS Scan Mechanisms,"  Published in Aerospace and related mechanisms 2005, Bangalore, India.

Balasubramaniam, V., Haridas, T.R., Varghese, G.V., Sam Dayala Dev, and Krishna Reddy, M.,  2004, "Disturbance torques in space mechanisms - A case study,"  Published in the 4th International Conference on Industrial Tribology, Dec 2004, Mumbai, India.

 

Ioannis Kakavas

i.kakavas11@imperial.ac.uk

Current Project: Development of high efficiency vehicle axle

Background
Ioannis is originally from Greece. He obtained his Diploma in Mechanical Engineering from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Greece) in 2010. He is currently carrying out PhD research in the Tribology Group, Imperial College London, under the supervision of Prof. Andrew Olver. His work is focused on the reduction of energy loss in a commercial vehicle axle.

Research Interests

• Elastohydrodynamic lubrication
• Tribology
• Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)
• Thermodynamics

Contact Details
Imperial College London
South Kensington Campus
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Room 585
London, SW7 2AZ, UK
Email: i.kakavas11@imperial.ac.uk

 

 

Jennifer Holtzinger

j.holtzinger07@imperial.ac.uk

Current project: Influence of Viscosity Modifiers on hydrodynamic friction

Background
Jennifer, originally from France, obtained her Master in Materials Engineering at the "Ecole Européenne d'Ingénieur en Génie des Matériaux "in 2004, in Nancy, France. Then she worked as a project associate in the Mechanical Engineering Department at the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore, India (2005-2006) and as an Engineer in the Research & Technology Department at PPG Aerospace Company in Shildon, UK (2006-2007).

In 2008, she joined the Tribology Group of the Mechanical Engineering Department at Imperial College London, where she is currently doing her PhD. She is studying the effect of Viscosity Modifiers (VMs) on hydrodynamic friction.

Research interests
Viscosity modifiers, polymer additives, rheology, hydrodynamic friction

Conference contribution
Holtzinger J., Lamb G.D., Green J.H., Spikes H.A., "Influence of Viscosity Modifiers on Hydrodynamic Friction", presented at STLE, May 2009, Orlando, USA

 

 

Jessika Nyqvist

jessika.nyqvist07@imperial.ac.uk

Current project: Contact Mechanics of Smart Coatings

Background
Jessika Nyqvist received her degree in Mechanical Engineering from Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden in 2007. The same year she joined the Tribology group at Imperial College. Her PhD research project involves modelling of 3D multilayered rough surfaces.

Research interests

• Contact modelling
• Rough surface contacts

Conference paper
J.Nyqvist, A.Kadiric, R.Sayles, S.Ioannides. "Roughness Effects In Thermo-Mechanically Loaded Contacts", presented at the ASME/STLE International Joint Tribology Conference, 20-22 October 2008, Miami, USA

 

 
Dr Julian Le Rouzic

j.le-rouzic@imperial.ac.uk

Current project: Triboemission and Boundary Film Formation

Background
Julian joined the tribology group at Imperial College in December 2011 as a research fellow working on the EMRP-REG funded project Metrology to Assess the Durability and Function of Engineered Surfaces. Before this, he spent 18 months as a research associate at Ecole Centrale de Lyon (France), investigating friction instabilities of coated elastomers.

Julian graduated with a master’s degree in Mechanics and Microsystems from Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Mécanique et des Microtechniques (Besançon, France) in 2005. He obtained his PhD from University of Franche-Comté (France) in 2009, studying the mechanical properties of anisotropic thin coatings.

Research Interests

• Micro and Nanomechanical Characterisation of Materials
• Scanning Probe Microscopy
• Friction Instabilities/Stick-Slip
• Infrared Thermography
• Boundary Lubrication

Papers
J. Le Rouzic and T. Reddyhoff, J. Tribol. 135, 021504, « Development of Infrared Microscopy for Measuring Asperity Contact Temperatures» (2013). doi: 10.1115/1.4023148

J. Le Rouzic, A. Le Bot, J. Perret-Liaudet, M. Guibert, A. Rusanov, L. Douminge, F. Bretagnol and D. Mazuyer, Tribol. Lett. 49, pp. 563-572, « Friction-induced vibration by Stribeck’s law: application to wiper blade squeal noise » (2013). doi: 10.1007/s11249-012-0100-z

J. Le Rouzic, P. Vairac, B. Cavallier and B. Cretin, IEEE Sensors J. 13, pp. 1340-1346, « W-shaped cantilevers for scanning force microscopy » (2013). doi: 10.1109/JSEN.2012.2232784

J. Le Rouzic, P. Delobelle, B. Cretin, P. Vairac and F. Amiot, Mat. Lett. 68, pp. 370-373, « Simultaneous measurement of Young’s modulus and Poisson’s ratio at microscale with two-modes scanning microdeformation microscopy » (2011). doi: 10.1016/j.matlet.2011.11.012

J. Le Rouzic, P. Delobelle, P. Vairac and B. Cretin, Eur. Phys. J. Appl. Phys, 48, 11201, « Comparison of three different scales techniques for the dynamic mechanical characterization of two polymers (PDMS and SU8) » (2009). doi: 10.1051/epjap/2009124

P. Vairac, R. Boucenna, J. Le Rouzic and B. Cretin, J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 41,155503, « Scanning microdeformation microscopy: experimental investigations on nonlinear contact spectroscopy » (2008). doi: 10.1088/0022-3727/41/15/155503

J. Le Rouzic, P. Vairac, B. Cretin and P. Delobelle, Rev. Sci. Instrum. 79, 033707,
« Sensitivity optimization of the scanning microdeformation microscope and application to mechanical characterization of soft materials » (2008). doi: 10.1063/1.2894208

Book chapters
P. Vairac, J. Le Rouzic, P. Delobelle and B. Cretin, « Scanning Microdeformation Microscopy: Advances in Micro- and Nanometrology», In Acoustic Scanning Probe Microscopy, Nanoscience and Technology Series, Ed. F. Marinello, D. Passeri, E. Savio, Springer, pp. 227- 259 (2013).

Conferences
T. Reddyhoff and J. Le Rouzic, STLE Annual Meeting, May 5-9 2013, Detroit, Michigan, USA. « Developing Infrared Microscopy to Measure Asperity Temperatures ».

F. Dalzin, A. Le Bot, D. Mazuyer, J. Le Rouzic, J. Perret-Liaudet and F. Bretagnol, MEDYNA 2013: 1st Euro-Mediterranean Conference on Structural Dynamics and Vibroacoustics, April 23-25 2013, Marrakech, Morroco. « Comprehension of friction law instability: application to wiper blade squeal noise ».

A. Rusanov, D. Mazuyer, J. Perret Liaudet, A. Le Bot, M. Guibert and J. Le Rouzic, Acoustics 2012, Nantes, France, « Tribological origin of squeal noise in lubricated elastomer/glass contact ».

P. Vairac, J. Le Rouzic and B. Cretin, International Conference on Nanoscience + Technology, Paris, France, 2012. « Microslip in Scanning Force Microscopy: the case of the Scanning Microdeformation Microscope ».

J. Le Rouzic, J. Perret-Liaudet, A. Carbonelli, A. Le Bot and D. Mazuyer, ASME International Design Engineering Technical Conferences and Computers and Information in Engineering Conference (IDETC/CIE2011), August 28-31 2011, Washington, DC, USA, ASME Conf. Proc., pp. 207-215. « Some experimental and analytical results on self-excited vibration of a dynamic sliding system in the case of stribeck law for friction coefficient ».

J. Le Rouzic, J. Perret-Liaudet, A. Carbonelli, A. Le Bot and D. Mazuyer, International Tribology Congress, Hiroshima, Japan, 2011. « Friction instabilities for a water lubricated elastomer/glass contact ».

J. Le Rouzic, P. Delobelle, P. Vairac and B. Cretin, Congrès Français de Mécanique, Besançon, France, 2011. « Caractérisation mécanique dynamique de 2 polymères (PDMS et résine SU8) par 3 techniques fonctionnant à différentes échelles (macro, micro et nano) ».

J. Le Rouzic, A. Le Bot, J. Perret-Liaudet and D. Mazuyer, Congrès Français de Mécanique, Besançon, France, 2011. « Caractérisation expérimentale d'instabilités de frottement pour un contact élastomère/verre lubrifié à l'eau ».

J. Le Rouzic, B. Cretin, P. Vairac and B. Cavallier, Joint Meeting of the European Frequency and Time Forum and the IEEE International Frequency Control Symposium, April 20-24 2009, Besançon, France, Vols 1 and 2, Book Series: IEEE International Frequency Control Symposium. Pages: 822-825. « Specific geometries of resonant cantilevers for scanning force microscopy ».

J. Le Rouzic, B. Cretin, P. Vairac and B. Cavallier, Forum des microscopies à sonde locale, Neufchâtel-Hardelot, France, 2009. « Microleviers à géométrie spécifique pour les microscopies à forces ».

J. Le Rouzic, P. Vairac, B. Cretin and P. Delobelle, Forum des microscopies à sonde locale, La Londe Les Maures, France, 2008. « Optimisation de la sensibilité du Scanning Microdeformation Microscope (SMM) et application à la caractérisation mécanique de matériaux mous ».

B. Cavallier, J. Le Rouzic, S. Thibaud, B. Cretin and P. Vairac, Forum des microscopies à sonde locale, La Londe Les Maures, France, 2008. « Modélisation par éléments finis de l’interaction élastique locale du microscope acoustique à pointe vibrante ».

 

 

Juliane Benedet

j.benedet07@imperial.ac.uk

Current project: Low and zero "SAPS" antiwear additives

Background:
Juliane Benedet has received her Bachelor degree in Chemical Engineering in 2005, from the University of Southern Santa Catarina in Brazil, where she worked for the National Service for Industrial Training (SENAI, 1998-2005) in the investigation, optimization and knowledge transfer of rheological aspects of ceramic suspensions.

She began working in the R&D of additives in 2006 at Infineum UK, where she investigated lubricity and detergency improvers for diesel fuels, afterwards joining Castrol Ltd in 2007 to investigate the thermal stability of lubricating oils. She briefly re-joined Infineum in 2011 as a Power Transmission Fluid Technologist, responsible for proposing technical solutions to fluid related hardware issues.

Currently, she is a PhD student in the Tribology Group of the Mechanical Engineering Department at Imperial College London, where she has investigated the film-forming, friction and wear-reducing properties of a very wide range of alternative low and zero sulphated ash, phosphorus and sulphur (SAPS) antiwear additives of different chemical types to improve the next generation of engine oils and extend the life of vehicle exhaust aftertreatment systems. 

Research Interests:

• Lubricants & Lubrication
• Tribochemistry
• Tribofilm formation, Friction and Wear
• Surface Analysis

Publications & Conferences:
Benedet, J., Spikes, H.A., Green, J.H., Lamb, G.D., Film forming, friction and wear properties of alternative antiwear additives, in 66th STLE Annual Meeting & Exhibition. 2011: Atlanta, USA.

Benedet, J., Spikes, H.A., Green, J.H., Lamb, G.D., Tribological characteristics of low and zero SAPS antiwear additives, in 65th STLE Annual Meeting & Exhibition. 2010: Las Vegas, USA.

Benedet, J., Spikes, H.A., Green, J.H., Lamb, G.D., Spurious mild wear measurement using white light interference microscopy in the presence of antiwear films. Trib. Trans., 2009(52): p. 841-846.

Benedet, J., Spikes, H.A., Green, J.H., Lamb, G.D., “Tribological Characteristics of Ashless Phosphorus and Phosphorus-Sulphur Based Antiwear Additives”, in:
• 18th Mission of Tribology Research, IMechE, London, 2009
• 4th World Tribology Congress (WTC IV), Kyoto, 2009
• 64th STLE, Orlando, 2009
• ECI: Advances in Boundary Lubrication and Boundary Surface Films, Seville, 2009

 

Marc Ingram

marc.ingram@imperial.ac.uk

Current Project: Enhanced Lubricants for High Voltage Maintenance Applications within the National Grid
PhD Project: The Mechanisms of Automatic Transmission Fluids

Background
Marc studied for a Masters Degree in Chemistry at the University of Bristol between 2002 and 2006. During this time Marc spent a year as a research student at the lubricant additive company Infineum. After completing his degree Marc then joined the Tribology group in 2006 to study for a PhD, which he completed in January 2010. His PhD thesis is titled "The Mechanisms of Wet Clutch Friction Behaviour"

Marc now holds a position of Research Associate within the Tribology group at Imperial College and is currently working on a project to improve the lubrication practices in substation equipment with the National Grid.

• September 2009 - present Research Associate in the Tribology Group
• 2006-2010 PhD in Mechanical Engineering, Imperial College London
• 2002 - 2006 MSci in Chemistry with Industrial Experience, University of Bristol

Research Interests

• Boundary lubrication
• Wet Clutches
• Automatic Transmission Fluids
• Surface active additives
• Greases
• Electric Contact Lubricants
  
  

Journal Publications
Ingram, M., Spikes, H., Noles, J. and Watts, R., "Contact properties of a wet clutch friction material" Tribology International, Vol. 43, Issue 4, 2010, pg. 815-821

Ingram, M., Reddyhoff, T., Spikes, H., “Thermal Behaviour of a Slipping Wet Clutch Contact” Tribology Letters, in press [doi: 10.1007/s11249-010-9669-2]

Ingram, M. Noles, J., Watts, R., Harris, S., “Frictional Properties of Automatic Transmission Fluids: Part I – Measurement of Friction-Sliding Speed Behaviour” Tribology Transactions, Vol. 54, Issue 1, 2011, pg. 145-153 [doi]

Ingram, M. Noles, J., Watts, R., Harris, S., “Frictional Properties of Automatic Transmission Fluids: Part II – Origins of Friction-Sliding Speed Behaviour” Tribology Transactions, Vol. 54, Issue 1, 2011, pg. 154-167 [doi]

Conference Publications
“The Mechanisms of Wet Clutch Friction” 64^th STLE Annual Meeting, Las Vegas, NV, May 2010

"Contact Properties of Wet Clutch Friction Material" 63rd STLE Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL, May 2009

"Mechanisms of Wet Clutch Friction" Additives 2009: Fuels and Lubricants for Energy Efficient and Sustainable Transport, York, UK, April 2009 

"Contact Properties of Wet Clutch Friction Material" 62nd STLE Annual Meeting, Cleveland, OH, May 2008

"The Effect of ATF Additives in a Clutch-Like Contact" 16th Mission of Tribology Research, IMechE, London, UK, 2007

"Antiwear Components in Engine Oils" Mike Rothwell Symposium, University of Bristol, UK, 7th April 2005

Mario Alberto Accardi

ma.accardi@imperial.ac.uk

Research Project
Numerical and Experimental Characterisation of Articular Cartilage - A Study on Biomechanics and Biotribology, Osteoarthritis and Tissue Engineering Solutions.

Research Interests

• Pathogenesis of osteoarthritis including its biochemical and biomechanical effects on articular cartilage
• Early diagnosis methodologies for osteoarthritis
• Tissue engineering and regenerative medicine 
• Novel orthopaedic implants

Publications and Conference Contributions Include:

Accardi, M.A., McCullen, S., Callanan, A., Chung, S., Stevens, M., Cann, P.M. and Dini, D., 2011. Shear behaviour and progression of damage in articular cartilage and its tissue-engineered counterpart: Effect of fibre orientation. Proceedings of the 1^st International Conference on Biotribology, London, UK.

Accardi, M.A., Ngee, H.L., Yamamoto, K., Mattei, L., Campioni, E., Cobb, J., Cann, P.M. and Dini, D. Osteoarthritis and damage in articular cartilage - a biochemical, biomechanical and numerical study. Proceedings of the 1^st International Conference on Biotribology, London, UK.

Accardi, M.A., Cann, P.M. and Dini, D., 2011. Experimental and Numerical Investigation of the Behaviour of Articular Cartilage under Shear Loading - Interstitial Fluid Pressurisation and Lubrication Mechanisms. Tribology International, Volume 44, Issue 5, Pages 565 – 578.

Accardi, M.A., Yamamoto. K., Lim, N.H., Cann, P.M. and Dini, D., 2010. Articular Cartilage Behaviour under Shear Loading - Fluid Pressurisation and Lubrication Mechanisms, Proceedings of the 6th World Congress on Biomechanics, Singapore.

Accardi, M.A., Yamamoto. K., Lim, N.H., Cann, P.M. and Dini, D., 2010. Damage in Articular Cartilage - A Biomechanical, Biochemical and Numerical Investigation, Proceedings of the 6th World Congress on Biomechanics, Singapore.

Mattei, L., Accardi, M.A., Dini. D. And Cobb, J., 2010. Implementation of Advanced Biphasic Articular Cartilage Models in a Realistic Knee Geometry, Proceedings of the 6th World Congress on Biomechanics, Singapore.

Accardi, M.A., Yamamoto. K., Lim, N.H., Cann, P.M. and Dini, D., 2010. Tribology of Native and Damaged Articular Cartilage: An Introduction, Proceedings of the British Orthopaedic Research Society Annual Meeting, Cardiff, UK.

Li J, Piccinelli S, Holt CA, Evans SL, Blain E, Dini D, Accardi M.A., 2010. Numerical modeling of articular cartilage mechanical behaviour, 9th International Conference on Computer Methods in Biomechanics and Biomedical Engineering, Valencia.

Accardi, M.A., Cann, P.M. and Dini, D., 2009. Articular Cartilage Behaviour under Shear Loading - Fluid Pressurisation and Lubrication Mechanisms. Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Mechanics of Biomaterials and Tissues, Clearwater. Florida, USA.

Accardi, M.A., Cann, P.M. and Dini, D., 2009. Theoretical and Experimental Investigation of Articular Cartilage Behaviour under Controlled Tribological Loading, Proceedings of the European Conference on Tribology, Pisa, Italy.

Accardi, M.A., and Dini, D., 2008. Modelling of the Mechanical Behaviour of Human Joints Cartilage, Proceedings of the STLE/ASME International Joint Tribology Conference, Miami, USA.

 

 

Mark Fowell

mark.fowell04@imperial.ac.uk

Current project: Tribology of Rolling Element Bearings

Background
Mark is from the UK. He obtained his Master in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Exeter,UK and completed his PhD in Tribology in 2010.

He is now a Research Associate in the SKF UTC within the Tribology group.

• MEng: Exeter University (2000 -2004)
• PhD: Imperial College London (2004-2010)
• Research Associate: Imperial College London (2008-2010)
• Research Associate: SKF UTC (2010 -2013)

Research Interests

• Surface Texturing
• Film Thickness Measurements in Lubricated Contacts (Laser Fluorescence / Interferometry)
• Soft Contact Tribology (Seals)
• Hydrodynamic Lubrication Modelling
• Elasto-hydrodynamic Lubrication Modelling
• Contact Modelling

Awards
2010 Tribology Trust Bronze Medal

Publications

Journal Papers

Fowell, M.T., Medina, S., Olver, A.V., Spikes, H.A., Pegg, I.G., 2012, “Parametric Study of Texturing of Hydrodynamic Bearings”, Tribology International, (In Print)

Balcombe, R., Fowell, M.T., Olver, A.V., Ioannides, S., Dini, D., 2011, “A coupled approach for rolling contact fatigue cracks in the hydrodynamic lubrication regime: The importance of fluid/solid interactions”, Wear, Vol. 271, Issues 5–6, Pages 720-733

Giacopini, M., Fowell, M.T., Dini, D., Strozzi, A., 2010, “A Mass-Conserving Complementarity Formulation to Study Lubricant Films in the Presence of Cavitation”, ASME Journal of Tribology, Vol. 132, Pages 041702-041714

Myant, C., Fowell, M.T., Spikes, H.A., Stokes, J.R., “An Investigation of Lubricant Film Thickness in Sliding Compliant Contacts”, Tribology & Lubrication Technology, 2010, Vol:66, Pages:46+

Myant, C., Fowell, M.T., Spikes, H.A., Stokes, J.R., 2010, “An Investigation of Lubricant Film Thickness in Sliding Compliant Contacts”, Tribology Transactions, Vol:53, Pages:684-694

Balcombe, R., Fowell, M.T., Dini, D., 2009, “Modelling rolling contact fatigue cracks in the hydrodynamic lubrication regime a coupled approach”, Procedia Engineering, Vol. 1, Issue 1, Pages 245-248

Fowell, M., Olver, A.V., Gosman, A.D., Spikes, H.A., Pegg, I., 2007, “Entrainment and Inlet Suction: Two Mechanisms of Hydrodynamic Lubrication in Textured Bearings”, ASME Journal of Tribology, Vol. 129, Issue 2, Pages 336-348

Olver, A.V., Fowell, M.T., Spikes, H.A., Pegg, I.G., 2006, “'Inlet suction', a load support mechanism in non-convergent, pocketed, hydrodynamic bearings”, Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers Part J, Vol. 220, Issue 2, Pages 105-108

Conferences

Refereed

Fowell, M.T., Olver, A.V., Gosman, A.D., Spikes, H.A., Pegg, I.G., 2006, "Inlet suction in micro pocketed bearings”, 33rd Leeds-Lyon Symposium, Leeds, UK, Sept 12-15 2006

Fowell, M.T., Medina, S., Olver, A.V., Spikes, H.A., Pegg, I.G., 2006, “Two mechanisms of hydrodynamic lubrication in textured bearings”, 2006 ASME/STLE Joint Conference, San Antonio, TX, USA, Oct 23-25 2006

Fowell, M.T., Medina, S., Olver, A.V., Spikes, H.A., Pegg, I.G., 2008, “Modelling of micro textured bearings with mass conserving cavitation, A two dimensional problem”, 2008 ASME/STLE Joint Conference, Miami, FL, USA, Oct 20-22 2008

Balcombe, R., Fowell, M.T., Dini, D., 2009, “Modelling rolling contact fatigue cracks in the hydrodynamic lubrication regime a coupled approach”, Mesomechanics 2009, Oxford, UK, June 24 – 26, Procedia Engineering, 1, pp. 245-248

Balcombe, R., Fowell, M.T., Dini, D., Olver, A.V., Ioannides, E., 2009, “A coupled approach for rolling contact fatigue cracks under elasto-hydrodynamic lubrication”, 2009 ASME/STLE Joint Conference, Memphis, TN, USA, Oct 20 - 22 2009

Bertocchi, L., Fowell, M.T., Dini, D., Giacopini, M., Strozzi, A., 2010,  "A Mass-conserving complementarity formulation to study of textured bearings in the presence of cavitation for non-newtonian and compressible fluids”, 2011 ASME/STLE Joint Conference, Los Angles, CA, USA, Oct 24 - 26 2011

Non-Refereed

Fowell, M.T., Olver, A.V.,Gosman, A.D., Spikes, H.A., Pegg, I.G., 2006, “Theoretical study of pocketed bearing surfaces”,61st STLE Annual Conference, Calgary, AB, Canada, May 7 - 11 2006

Fowell, M.T., Olver, A.V., Gosman, A.D., Spikes, H.A., Pegg, I.G., 2007, “CFD and Reynolds modelling of the hydrodynamic lubrication of textured surfaces”, 62nd STLE Annual Conference, Philadelphia, PA, USA, May 6 - 10 2007

Fowell, M.T., Medina, S., Olver, A.V., Spikes, H.A., Pegg, I.G., 2008, “Influence of 2D surface texture on hydrodynamic film formation and friction”, 5th China Int. Sym. on Tribology, Beijing, China, September 24-27 2008

Balcombe, R., Fowell, M.T., Dini, D., Olver, A.V., Ioannides, E., 2009, “Rolling contact fatigue cracks in the presence of lubricant”, 64th STLE Annual Conference, Orlando, FL, USA, May 18 - 21 2009

Balcombe, R., Fowell, M.T., Dini, D., Olver, A.V., 2010, "An experimental and theoretical study of rolling contact fatigue cracks in the presence of a lubricant", 65th STLE Annual Conference, Las Vegas, NV, USA, May 16-20 2010
Fowell, M.T., Manzoor, A.S., Medina, S., Olver, A.V., Spikes, H.A., Pegg, I.G., 2010, “Theoretical and experimental study of micro-textured bearings : The importance of cavitation”, 65th STLE Annual Conference, Las Vegas, NV, USA, May 16-20 2010

Giacopini, M., Fowell, M.T., Dini, D., Strozzi, A., 2010, “A new mass -conserving complementarity formulation to study cavitation with particular application to textured bearings”, 65th STLE Annual Conference, Las Vegas, NV, USA, May 16-20 2010.

Invited Talks

“Applications of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) to Tribology”, Recent Advances in Tribological Modelling, Institute of Physics, London, 18th Februry 2009

“Understanding the Lubrication of Textured Surfaces”, Measurement and characterisation of structured surfaces – information exchange day, National Physical Laboratory, Teddington, London, 15th March 2010.

 

 

 

 

Robbie Balcombe

Current Project: Rolling contact fatigue cracks in lubricated contacts

Background
Robbie Balcombe graduated from Strathclyde University in 2007 with an MEng in Aero-Mechanical Engineering, having completed an undergraduate project: "Non-linear finite element analysis in pressure vessel design".

He is currently carrying out PhD research in the area of "rolling contact fatigue cracks in lubricated contacts" at Imperial College under the supervision of Dr Daniele Dini, Dr Andy Olver and Professor Stathis Ioannides. The project is being carried out in collaboration with SKF.

• Strathclyde University (2002 - 2007)
• Danmarks Tekniske Universitet (2004 - 2005)
• Imperial College (2007 - )

Research Interests

• Fatigue and fracture mechanics
• Contact mechanics
• Boundary and finite element modelling
• Modelling hydrodynamic and elastohydrodynamic lubrication

Journal Papers
R Balcombe, MT Fowell, D Dini, AV Olver, S Ioannides, 2010, "A coupled approach for rolling contact fatigue cracks in the hydrodynamic lubrication regime: The importance of fluid/solid interactions", submitted to Wear

R Balcombe, MT Fowell, D Dini, 2009, "Modelling rolling contact fatigue cracks in the hydrodynamic lubrication regime: a coupled approach", Procedia Engineering, Vol. 1 (1), 2009, pp 245 - 248

Conference Contributions
"A combined numerical and experimental study of rolling contact fatigue cracks in EHL contacts " International Joint Tribology Conference, San Francisco, CA, October 18 - 20 2010

"An experimental and theoretical study of rolling contact fatigue cracks in the presence of a lubricant" 65th STLE Annual Meeting, Las Vegas, NV, May 16 - 20 2010

"A coupled approach for rolling contact fatigue cracks under elastohydrodynamic lubrication" International Joint Tribology Conference, Memphis, TN, October 20 - 22 2009

"Rolling contact fatigue cracks in the presence of lubricant" 64th STLE Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL, May 18 - 21 2009

 

 

Dr Saverio Reina

s.reina06@imperial.ac.uk

Current project: Axle, Rim & Tyre Interface System Modelling Optimisation

Background
Mr. Saverio Reina, Laurea (BSc, M.Eng.) in Mechanical Engineering (Politecnico di Milano, Italy), studies for a D.Phil. in Contact Mechanics in the Tribology Group at Imperial College London since October 2006 on a TSB collaborative project. Prior to joining Imperial College, and after receiving a M.Eng. in Mechanical Engineering from the Politecnico di Milano (Italy) in 2005, Mr. Reina worked for Artsana SpA (Quality Assurance Engineering).

Research interests
Material modelling of engineering couplings, applied contact mechanics, material modelling, fretting fatigue and fatigue life prediction.

Journal articles
Reina S., Dini D., Hills D.A., Iida Y.,"A Quadratic Programming Formulation for the Solution of Layered Elastic Contact Problems: Example Applications and Experimental Validation", submitted to European Journal of Mechanics - A/Solids (2010).

Reina S., Hills D.A. and Dini D., (2010), "Incipient slip conditions in rolling contact of tyred wheels", accepted for publication in Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part C, Journal of Mechanical Engineering Science

Reina S., R.J. Paynter, Hills D.A. and Dini D., (2009), "Determining the coefficient of friction without sliding", accepted for publication in Wear.

Reina S., Hills D.A. and Dini D., (2009), "Interfacial Slip and Creep in rolling contact incorporating a Cylinder with an Elastic Layer", accepted for publication in  European Journal of Mechanics / A-Solids

Reina S., Dini D. and Hills D.A., (2009), "Contact of a rigid cylinder indenting an elastic layer sliding over a rigid substrate", accepted for publication in European Journal of Mechanics / A-Solids

Conference contributions
Tribology
Hills D.A., Dini D., Paynter R.J. and Reina S. (2010), "On the calibration of fretting fatigue tests for complete contacts using asymptotic techniques", USNCTAM2010 16th US National Congress of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, June 27 - July 2, 2010, Pennsylvania, USA

Hills D.A., Dini D., Paynter R.J. and Reina S. (2010), "Fretting of complete contacts: an analytical
solution for partial slip", ECCM2010 IV European Conference on Computational Mechanics,
16-21 May 2010, Paris, France

Reina S., Dini D., Hills D.A. (2010), "Interfacial frictional behaviour of layered systems under
cyclic loading", ECCM2010 IV European Conference on Computational Mechanics, 16-21 May
2010, Paris, France

Reina S., Dini D. and Hills D.A. (2009), "On the accurate prediction of interfacial micro-slip in frictional joints using distributed dislocations and quadratic programming techniques", presented at Mesomechanics 2009, 24-26 June 2009, Oxford, UK.

Reina S. and Dini D. (2009), "A theoretical and experimental investigation of interface local slip and creepage in layered systems", presented at the World Tribology Congress 2009, 6-11 September 2009, Kyoto, Japan.

Reina S., Dini D. And Hills D.A. (2009), "Measuring friction in partial slip fretting tests: theoretical and experimental investigations of "walking" contact pairs", presented at ESMC 2009, 7th Euromech solid mechanics conference, 7-11 September 2009, Lisbon, Portugal.

Reina S., Dini, D. Nowell, D. and Hills D.A. (2009), "On the evolution of frictional hysteresis loops in fretting experiments" - presented at ASME International, Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition, 13-19 November 2009, Lake Buena Vista, Florida, USA

Reina S., Dini D. and Hills D.A. (2009), "Measuring friction without sliding"- presented at ASME International, Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition, 13-19 November 2009, Lake Buena Vista, Florida, USA

Reina S., Dini D. (2009), "Frictional shakedown in contact problems of layered systems", presented at the ASME/STLE International Joint Tribology Conference, 19-21 October 2009, Memphis, USA.

Reina S., and Dini D. (2008), "Incipient slip and frictional creep of tyred systems", presented at the ASME/STLE International Joint Tribology Conference, 20-22 October 2008, Miami, USA.

Medical Engineering
Frasson L., Neubert J., Reina S., Oldfield M., Davies B.L. and F. Rodriguez Y Baena (2010), "Development and validation of a numerical model for Cross-section optimization of a multi part probe for soft tissue intervention", 32nd Annual International Conference of the
IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, 1-4 September 2010, Buenos Aires, ARG

Frasson L., Reina S. Davies B.L. and F. Rodriguez Y Baena (2009), "Design Optimization of a biologically inspired multi-part probe for soft tissue surgery", to be presented at the World Congress 2009, Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, 7-11 September 2009, Munich, GER.

Other Academic Activities
Member of the organising committee of the conference Mesomechanics 2009, Oxford, 24-26 June 2009

Awards
Winner of the 2008 edition of the annual half-day Institution of Mechanical Engineers Tribology Group event MISSION of TRIBOLOGY RESEARCH 17.

Membership of Professional Bodies
Albo degli Ingegneri della Provincia di Varese, Italy, Member

 

 

Sophie Campen

sophie.campen03@imperial.ac.uk

Current project: Fundamentals of Organic Friction Modifier Behaviour

Background
Sophie is from the UK. She obtained her Master in Science in the Chemistry department at Imperial College London, UK. She spent a year at the Ecole Supérieure de Physique et de Chimie Industrielles in Paris, France where she worked in the laboratoire Matière Molle et Chimie on the toughening of bisphenol-A-polycarbonate using block copolymers. She is now working towards a PhD in the Tribology group.

• MSci: Imperial College London (2003 - 2007)
• PhD: Imperial College London (2007 - present)

Research Interests

• Molecular self-assembly
• Boundary lubrication
• Additive behaviour under tribological conditions
• In-situ AFM studies of additive behaviour
  
  

Conferences
Campen, S., Green, J., Lamb, G. and Spikes, H.: "Study of organic friction modifiers using fluid cell, tapping mode atomic force microscopy", Tribochemistry Kyoto, Japan, 2 - 4 September 2009.

Campen, S., Green, J., Lamb, G. and Spikes, H.: "Liquid cell atomic force microscopy for studying organic friction modifier behaviour", Advances in Boundary Lubrication and Boundary Surface Films, Seville, Spain, 29 March - 3 April 2009.

 

 

Tina Fan

jing.fan03@imperial.ac.uk

Current project: Design of boundary lubricating polymers

Background
Tina is from China. She is currently a research associate in the Tribology group.
From 2001 to 2004 she was employed by Sinopec at the Research Institute of Petroleum Processing (RIPP) working on lubricants and additives. Prior to this she worked on chemical analysis at Xi'an Modern Chemical Institute from 1995 to 1998.

• PhD Tribology - Imperial College 2004 - 2008
• MSc Chemical Eng. - Beijing Institute of Technology 2001
• BSc Environmental Eng. - Nanjing University of Science and Technology 1991 1995

Research interests
Boundary lubrication, PMA viscosity modifiers, friction and wear of lubricants.

Publications
Fan, J.Y., Muller, M. and Spikes, H.A, "Reduction of wear using functionalised PAMA viscosity modifiers." Presented at 15th Intern. Colloq. Tribology, Automotive and Industrial Lubrication, Esslingen, Jan 2006.

Spikes, H. A. and Fan, J. Y., "New test for mild lubricated wear in rolling-sliding contacts", Trib. Trans. 50, pp. 145-153, (2007). Selected for special reprint in TLT July Issue, 2007, pp. 42-51.

Muller, M., Fan, J.Y., and Spikes, H.A., "Influence of polymethacrylate viscosity index improvers on friction and wear of lubricant formulations." JASE 20077110, SAE 2007-01-1985 (2007).

Fan, J.Y., Muller, M., Stohr, T. and Spikes, H.A., "Reduction of friction by functionalised viscosity index improvers." Tribol. Lett. 28, pp. 287-298, (2007).

Muller, M., Fan, Jingyun, Spikes, H.A., "Design of functionalised PAMA viscosity modifiers to reduce friction and wear in lubricating oils." ASTM International 4 (10), paper ID JAI100956, (2007).

Conferences
"New bench test to study mild lubricated wear", poster 2005-64398, World Tribology Congress III, Washington, D.C.. September 12 - 16, 2005.

"Reduction of wear using functionalized PAMA viscosity modifiers", 15th International Colloquium Tribology, Stuttgart/Ostfildern, Germany. January 17 - 19, 2006.

"Design of boundary film -forming polymers", 5th China International Symposium on Tribology, Beijing, China. September 23 -26, 2008.

 

 

Yusuke Iida  

y.iida@imperial.ac.uk

Current Project: Effects of Lubricant Additives on Rolling Contact Fatigue

Background

• From Chiba, Japan
• BEng: Chiba University, Japan (1996)
• MSc: Chiba University, Japan (1998)
• Worked as an engineer in an industry for 5 years
• PhD: Brunel University, UK (2007)
• Research associate: Imperial College London (2008-)

Research Interests

• Polymethacrylate viscosity index improvers
• Elastohydrodynamic lubrication
• Rolling contact fatigue
• Contact mechanics

Publications
Iida, Y., Stolarski, T.A. and Sato, K., 2007, "Surface damage resulting from rolling contact operating in magnetic field", J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys., 40, 7629-7637

Sato, K., Stolarski, T.A. and Iida, Y., 2000, "The effect of magnetic field on fretting wear", Wear, 241, 99-108.

"The effects of magnetic fields on rolling contacts" The 3rd Asia International Conference of Tribology, Kanazawa, Japan, Oct. 2006

 

 

Yutaka Imai

y.imai@imperial.ac.uk

Current Project
A Study of the Tribological Benefits Offered by Various Surface Features and Roughness Conditions within Grease-Lubricated Interfaces.

Background
He graduated from the Industrial Chemistry Department of the College of Science and Technology, Nihon University with a degree in engineering in March, 1999. He has been involved in the research and development of lubrication grease since he joined Kyodo Yushi Co., Ltd. in Japan in April, 1999.
He has knowledge of ball bearing grease and contributed to the development of various types of ball bearing grease including air conditioner low torque bearing grease, automotive electric auxiliary bearing grease and many others.

To advance his tribological research, he is conducting an intensive study regarding the interaction between surface features and roughness conditions within grease-lubricated interfaces in the Tribology Group under the supervision of Dr. Richard Sayles and Dr. Amir Kadiric.

Research Interests

• Tribology
• Grease Lubrication
• Fatigue Analysis (Hydrogen Embrittlement)

Extracurricular activities
Football, Five a-side football, Billiard

Publications & Presentations
Y.Imai, T.Endo, D.Dong & Y.Yamamoto, “Study on Rolling Contact Fatigue in Hydrogen Environment at a Contact Pressure below Basic Static Load Capacity,” Tribology Transactions, 53 (2010) 764.

H.Kimura, Y.Imai & Y.Yamamoto, “Study on Fiber Length Control for Ester-based Lithium Soap Grease,” Tribology Transactions, 44 (2008) 405.

T.Endo, D.Dong, Y.Imai & Y.Yamamoto, “Study On Rolling Contact Fatigue in Hydrogen Atmosphere,” Journal of Japanese Society of Tribologists, 49, 10 (2004) 801.

T.Endo, D.Dong, Y.Imai & Y,Yamamoto, “Study on Rolling Contact Fatigue in Hydrogen Atmosphere – Improvement of Rolling Contact Fatigue Life by Formation of Surface Film,” Procceedings of the 31st Leeds-Lyon Symposium on Tribology (2004) 343.

Y.Imai, J.Imai. “Rolling Contact Fatigue in Hydrogen Atmosphere – Study of the Contribution of Lubricants,” Tribology Conference Manuscript (2008-9, Nagoya) 351.

Contact Details
Imperial College London
South Kensington Campus
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Room 585
London, SW7 2AZ, UK