CEEPUS Tribology BG 0703

Short description, research and educational contributions

The University of Chemical Technology and Metallurgy (UCTM) offers many accredited study programs in all educational levels (undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate, as well as lifelong learning) in the fields of Chemical Technologies, Chemical Engineering, Metallurgy, Material Science, Automatics and Information Technologies, Biotechnologies, Engineering Ecology and Environmental Protection, Industrial Management. The Department of Physics-Mathematical and Technical Sciences (DPMTS) was established eleven years ago when all fundamental departments (chairs) from the university were joined to the so called Departments with statute of faculties – three numbers at UCTM: Department of Physics-Mathematical and Technical Sciences, Department of Chemical Sciences and Department of Humanities. The DPMTS offers fundamental teaching to all students (full-time and part-time form) of the university in Mathematics, Physics, Informatics, Mechanical Engineering Sciences and Electrical Engineering Sciences and related subjects, as well and teaching for PhD students in “Doctor’s School” at DPMTS.

The Department of Applied Mechanics as a part of DPMTS at UCTM is active in several research areas and provides high quality teaching in a large variety of subjects in all educational degrees (Bachelor, Master and PhD) in Bulgarian, English, German and French. The lecturers teach over 1500 students per year in fundamental subjects as Technical Drawing, Theoretical Mechanics, Strength of Materials, Technical Mechanics, Applied Mechanics, Machinery and Machine Design, Elements of Construction, CAD/CAE systems, etc., as well as in many specialized courses in Master’s and Doctor's programs. Furthermore for the last ten years over 20 PhD students have elaborated their dissertations within the frame of the Department research projects. The teaching and scientific activities are realized in four computer laboratories and three specialized laboratories: “Laboratory on applied mechanics, tribology and mechanics of materials”, “Laboratory on machinery and machine design” and “CAD/CAE Laboratory”, as they are equipped with many conventional and specialized machine tools and units, measuring instruments, computer networks, etc. Within the scope of its research activities, the Department cooperates with Bulgarian and European Research Institutions and companies. Numerous research projects have been completed, supported by R&D Sector at UCTM, public or private, national or international funds and further ones are in progress.

Topics of education and research of the Department of Applied Mechanics for the current project are:

• Tribology - problems of friction, lubrication and wear

- Hydrodynamic and Elastohydrodynamic Theory of Lubrication - effects of: inertia forces; contact surfaces deformations; lubricant's non-Newtonian properties; turbulence, etc.;

- Stability of Journal Bearings - static and dynamic characteristics; dynamic coefficients; stability criteria;

- Contact Problems;

• Modeling and simulation

- Mathematical modeling and computer simulations of mechanical and HD processes – ANSYS Classic; Workbench & ANSYS CFX;

- Original Program codes of mechanical processes' simulations

- Algorithms for analysis and synthesis of mechanical systems with matrix methods

- Variational Methods for Technological Processes Control

• Mechanics of materials

- Mechanics and mechanisms of the materials behavior - relation between composition, microstructures and properties of materials;

- Composites – mechanical properties, homogenization, damage, failure, rheology - modeling and characterization

- Mechanical behaviour of materials in aggressive mediums;

• Nonlinear mechanical systems – identification methods. Vibrations. Inverse Problems in Technics;

• E-Learning.