SAIT PRESIDENT ANNOuNCES 2010 TRIBOLOGY PROJECT STuDY T ribology is the study of friction and wear. Without fric- tion, the world as we know it would not exist—we would all slide around endlessly. On the other hand, fric- tion can only occur when two bodies are in relative rub- bing motion, and rubbing means that the bodies are in actual contact, so friction generates wear and heat. Heat developed through friction wastes energy and sometimes requires more energy to dissipate the heat such as through a cooling system. At the same time, wear takes place on one or both of the rubbing surfaces. Although friction has been used for many years, prob- ably since our primate predecessors started sharpening sticks, it is only more recently that it has been studied as a discrete science that includes wear and energy usage. During the mid-1960s, Dr. H. Peter Jost was requested to consider the position of lubrication education and re- search in the U.K. From this humble start, Dr. Jost realized that lubrication, or rather, correct lubrication, was only a small part of the bigger picture, and that friction and wear encompassed both lubrication and the properties and na- ture of the surfaces that were rubbing together. With the help of the Oxford English dictionary, he called this old, but recently defined, science: tribology. Jost’s final report, now commonly called the Jost Re- port, showed that in 1965 the U.K. was losing a conserva- tive £500 million per annum through poor understanding of tribology and the associated losses in energy and wasted machinery component life. During the early 1980s, a wear society was formed in South Africa, initially between the mining groups and the CSIR, which brought together like-minded people con- cerned about wear in general. Within a few years, this group became the South African Institute of Tribology. For several years, SAIT has been trying to initiate a study of the cost of non-conformance with the basics of tribology in South Africa. We are now proud to announce that a study has been sponsored by the South African Gov- ernment’s Department of Science and Technology. OBJECTIVES The objective of this study is to determine the cost and ener- gy savings potential of tribology to South Africa. Since tribo- logy is about the understanding and control of friction, and friction consumes energy and generates wear, this objective can be seen as to determine the extra cost of energy lost due to friction, and the cost of wear that could otherwise be re- duced or eliminated since wear consumes machinery. Because tribology is universal, it covers all of industry, both government and private sector and all forms of mech- anization. The objectives of this study will be to establish WWW.S TLE.ORG both the costs and potential savings by industry type and by application, considering the following cost areas: 1. Energy: consumption and savings potential 2. Environment 3. Maintenance 4. Replacement costs 5. Breakdowns 6. Potential to increase component life 7. Potential for improved mechanical efficiency to in- crease equipment and machinery utilization. The outcome of this study will then be to benchmark South Africa and industries in South Africa and highlight areas of concern where greater effort is required—for ex- ample in certain industries or applications, in general edu- cation, specific education or research and development. METhODOLOGY Because data for this tribology project must come from so many diverse industries and applications, the initial ap- proach will be by questionnaires circulated through the membership of appropriate engineering bodies in South Africa. After processing the data generated from these questionnaires, further studies will be conducted in specif- ic industries that may be highlighted, and questionnaires will be followed up with personal interviews where pos- sible or required. TERTIARY EDuCATION STANDARDS A team will be established to evaluate the current levels of teaching and curricula of secondary technical and tertiary institutions. Based on the data developed by this project, shortcomings in the current curricula will be highlight- ed and appropriate recommendations to overcome these shortcomings will be examined. TIMELINE The agreed deadline for this project is July 2010. The SAIT Tribology Project 2010 is an ambitious effort that will probably ultimately affect more people in more ways than we realize. To complete this project will take a great effort by many people. If anyone feels that they have any experi- ence or specialist knowledge to contribute to this project or would like to volunteer their help in any way, please contact our secretary at secretary@sait.org.za. Sincerely, Patrick Swan President, SAIT TRIBOLOG Y & LUBRICATION TECHNOLOG Y AUGUS T 2009 • 43
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