Tribology
Tribology Laboratory - University of Pretoria
The tribology group is headed by Professor Philip de Vaal and was started in 1987 with support from ESKOM, Anglo-American and ISCOR. The activities in the lab focus on lubricant performance evaluation, which includes analysis of greases, oils and diesels. More recent industrial problems with diesel quality in South Africa motivated research in the field of diesel lubricity and biodiesel, sponsored by Sasol.
The Tribology Lab not only functions as a academic research lab, but also as an evaluation lab for industry. Several companies use the Tribology Lab for failure analysis and quality control.
Click [tribology@ragnarok.up.ac.za | here] to gain access to the computers in the Tribology Lab (A password is required.)
Equipment
The following lubrication bench tests are available in the Tribology Lab.
Documentation for projects done on the FZG machine can be found here
Documentation for projects done on the SRV machine can be found here
T03 BICERI Universal Wear-testing Machine
Documentation for the projects done on the BICERI UWM can be found here
T04 High Frequency Reciprocating Rig (HFRR)
Documentation, standards and test procedures regarding the HFRR can be found in this section.
