CEEPUS Tribology BG 0703

Modern Trends in Education and Research on Mechanical Systems - Bridging Reliability, Quality and Tribology

Introduction

1. Project overview

The mostly used definition is that Tribology is the science and engineering of interacting surfaces in relative motion. It includes the study and application of the principles of friction, lubrication, wear and other process between contacting surfaces. This definition is related to the origin of the tribological science as a separate knowledge given by Prof. Jost 45 years ago.

Looking at tribology from the modern point of view we could say that Tribology is the name given to the scientific concept with embraces processes at surfaces and interfaces, as friction, wear, lubrication, tightness in the contact zone, called also contact body or third body, generally revealing the interaction in contact. There are recently basic reasons for the growing importance of tribology: the control of friction and wear leads to economical, ecological advance and sustainable development in industry, very large energy saving factor, and as one of the most important practical issue – improvement of the reliability and quality, becoming thus a recognized topic acknowledged during the last thirty years as an important educational, scientific and technological conception.

Being deep and worldwide, the present crisis of our society embraces in unity economic, political and spiritual crises. The missing thing for the way out of the crisis is an adequate preparation of human thinking, with turning point embedded in the education. The present state of science, education and knowledge is basic element of the global crisis of humanity. We have to consider the actual problems of the crisis in engineering education and knowledge on the basis of the interdisciplinary paradigm and the European strategy of sustainable development, while integrating in a unity the assessment of the three components of education: erudition, cognition and teaching.

Let’s have one more glance in the current crisis with accent in the engineering education. Finding one way out of the crisis in industry could be to teach how to introduce the application of tribological knowledge as instrument for improving reliability and quality of our material assets, as well as of our culture and life. Tribology is an interdisciplinary approach to the solution of problems in the engineering sciences and technology creating complex tools for the solution of problems. In the interdisciplinary look at the wholeness, is the biggest chance for spreading our horizon, moreover in different aspects: scientific, cultural and political-economical.

Educational aspects of the project:

The educational processes required to create experts whose expertise would meet the requirements set by the objectives mentioned. This is why design of adequate curricula enriched by the most recent scientific knowledge, created on problem based learning and active participation of students in all teaching processes is of utmost importance. The proposed network would provide possibilities for exchange and transfer of teaching and research experience and know-how in the field of Mechanical Engineering, particularly in the topic Reliability and Quality set forth by Tribological knowledge, by enhancing student and teacher mobility, as well as by development, improvement and harmonization of curricula, and preparation of Joint programs. It will instruct the students and young scientist the important didactic topic to be engaged in decision-making, policy-making and planning.

Scientific aspects of the project:

We face the increasing role of tribology in the large and complex scope of reliability engineering, the different tribology-related methods to improve reliability, and finally the scope of tribology covering technical and scientific problems from nanoscale, through microscale up to macroscale. One of the tasks of tribology is to study the advantages from a full investigation of industrial failures, and using tribological knowledge and understanding to establish the causes and the ways of healing them. It becomes frequently possible to improve reliability and quality by using tribological knowledge. This knowledge can be improved and concentrated to essential knowledge in the integrated research interactions in the frame of the Joint Programs of the project, as well as brought to awareness and application of the academic staffs of the partners.

Thus, the main goal of the CEEPUS project is to create a Network for integrating the partners in education and scientific research in the field of reliability, quality and tribology of mechanical systems.

2. Participating institutions in the framework of the CEEPUS application

° University of Chemical Technology and Metallurgy, Department of Physics-Mathematical and Technical Sciences, Department of Applied Mechanics, Sofia, Bulgaria

° Technical University of Sofia, Faculty of Machine Technology, Department “Theory of Machines and Mechanisms”, Bulgaria

° Technical University of Sofia, Plovdiv Branch, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Department of Mechanical Equipment and Technologies, Bulgaria

° University of Belgrade, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Department of Materials Technology, Serbia

° University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Technical Sciences, Department of Mechanization and Design Engineering, Serbia

° University of Nis, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Department of Machine Construction, Development and Engineering, Serbia

° “Dunarea de Jos” University of Galati, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Department of Machine Design and Graphics, Romania

° University “Politehnica” Bucharest, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Mechatronics, Department of Machine Elements and Tribology, Romania

° University “Stefan cel Mare” of Suceava, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Mechatronics, Department of Mechanical Engineering and Mechatronics, Romania

° Slovak University of Technology, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Institute of manufacturing systems, environmental technology and quality management, Bratislava, Slovakia

° Technical University in Kosice, Faculty of Manufacturing Technologies in Presov, Department of Manufacturing Technologies, Slovakia

° Warsaw University of Technology, Faculty of Mechatronics, Institute of Micromechanics and Photonics, Poland

° Technical University of Radom, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Institute of Vehicles and Machines Maintenance, Poland

° Poznan University of Technology, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Management, Department of Metrology and Measurement Systems, Poland

° Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Department of Machine and Product Design, Hungary

° Technical University of Moldova, Faculty of Engineering and Management in Machine Buiding, Department of Machinery and Production Systems, Chisinau, Moldova

° University of Banja Luka, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Department of Production Engineering, Bosnia and Herzegovina

° University of Zagreb, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture, Department of Materials, Croatia

° Vienna University of Technology, Institute for Sensors and Actuator Systems, Department of Microsystem Technology, Austria

3. The basic aim of the project

Each of network partners units is specialized and excellent in different scope of our domain, the Mechanical Engineering. We will make an effort to utilize the individual experience of the partners in a synergy effect. Synergy corresponds to the mutual work of two or more partners working together to produce a result not obtainable by any of the partners independently. Accordingly, it is suitable to utilize the research and educational experience, resources and achievements of the individual partners in their mutual work for the functioning of the entire network. The mobility and integration of students and teachers will enable to achieve results in education and research on a higher level.

Therefore the basic aim of the proposed project is to improve the international cooperation in education and research, increasing the mobility in the Danube region, the Central and East European regions and giving the possibility to the students and teachers to have access to the achievements of other universities in the interdisciplinary area of tribology, reliability and quality of the engineering domain. The way to the completion of the aim will be development of new Joint Programs awarding manifold support for developing and finishing of PhD theses. The Joint Programs will be a good tool for utilizing in a unity the excellent and the specific methods of education and research in engineering elaborated by the individual partner institutions. A good opportunity is the existence of previous active cooperation in the considered topics between most of the partners. The creation of the new network will consolidate the synergy effect for improving the level of educational and research area, increasing flexibility of students and teachers, and improving cooperation between network partners.

Sofia, 15.01.2012

Assoc. Prof. Eng. Juliana Javorova, PhD

Network coordinator