Time for tribology 14 December 2013

As the UK strives to rebalance its economy in favour of manufacturing, Brian Tinham talks to Dr Peter Jost about the still unfulfilled roles for tribological science and technology.

The full and proper application of tribology – the science and technology of interacting surfaces in relative motion – would save the nation some 1.1% of NDP (net domestic product – GDP (gross domestic product) minus capital equipment depreciation), which equates to a staggering £8—10 billion. So says Dr Peter Jost (92), widely credited as the founding father of this key inter-disciplinary subject 60 years ago, and now the recipient of one of the Royal Academy of Engineering's top accolades – the Sustained Achievement Award, which he adds to a long list of honours.

In its citation, the Royal Academy makes the point that what might appear to be mundane issues around friction and lubrication have long since been revealed to have engineering implications certainly throughout industry, but also way beyond – ranging from medicine and dentistry to nanotechnology. Indeed, it states that tribology is central to managing the costly effects of friction and wear, a point given scale by independent studies in Germany, the USA, Canada, China, the UK and Japan, which suggest that by investing in tribology each could expect to save up to 1.4% of GDP.

What of the man? As a student apprentice, Dr Jost achieved early distinction, winning the Sir John Larking Medal for his Measurement of Surface Finish paper. Following completion of his studies in Liverpool and Manchester, he progressed rapidly in industry, rising to general manager of international lubricants firm Trier Bros in London at the age of 29. There he was responsible for several engineering innovations around advanced lubricants – in particular an oil-free aqueous colloidal graphite lubrication system, which eliminated the problems of scale formation in steam boiler tubes, also saving energy and water.

British Petroleum adopted the solution at five new refineries, as did Shell Tankers, and the system became the standard until reciprocating steam plant became obsolete.

One of Dr Jost's companies, Centralube, went on to design sophisticated, mission-critical engineering lubrication and associated systems for steel mills, refineries, space vehicles and forges. It also developed systems for ships, including T45 destroyers and the new class of aircraft carriers. Another, KS Paul, developed high-tech coatings and lubricants, including poly butyl cuprysil (PBC) grease, a versatile metallic-organic material that won the company a 1988 Queen's Award for Technological Achievement.

Centralube's ferrous industry interests led to Dr Jost becoming the world's first steelworks lubrication engineering consultant. He is credited with having solved many design problems at the then Richard Thomas & Baldwin (latterly Llanwern) integrated steelworks. His lubricant specifications and integrated lubrication distribution systems resulted in substantial operational improvements and cost savings, which were subsequently also taken up at several German and American steel works.

So what of the billions of pounds worth of potential benefits today? Dr Jost explains that they come from the potential for energy (and hence also environmental) savings that stem from appropriate selection of materials and lubricants in the design of everything from bearings to engine cylinder liners that enable more efficient surface interactions. Essentially, they arise out of machinery, plant and systems developed at both microscopic and macroscopic levels to run longer, with reduced friction, less maintenance intervention – thus minimising downtime, costs and capital reinvestment for the nation.

Additionally, at this year's World Tribology Congress, in Torino, Italy, which marked the 40th anniversary of the founding of the International Tribology Council, he opened proceedings by talking of the extension of his field into bio-tribology, eco-tribology and nano-tribology. For him, R&D in these fields is very much part of the promise of the application of tribology.

However, Dr Jost made it clear that for the most part the word 'promise' is apposite. "While, on one hand, in most countries the world of tribology academia has grown steadily – and thereby increased the capacity of knowledge available – on the other, with notable exceptions, the response by potential users, particularly industries, has not kept pace," he said. "As a result, there is an increasing gap between the creators of useful tribological knowledge and many of the users, [who would be] beneficiaries of such knowledge."

You sense his frustration. As the UK strives to rebalance its economy, he sees this as a near-criminal failure either to apply or invest in existing and evolving engineering knowhow that could significantly impact UK plc's productivity and profitability. "China's massive 2008 report suggested numerous ways in which the gap might be bridged," he says, pointing to recommendations – some directed at governmental organisations – ranging from formal education in tribology, to the development of multi-level teams of tribology experts.

For him, the disappointment is that it is not happening fast enough, certainly in the UK. "The problem faced by tribologists – especially those who have produced often excellent research results – is how to persuade users to turn this new knowledge into applications, resulting not only in increased productivity, competitiveness and hence employment, but also innovations that will save on resources and energy."

There is no easy solution, he agrees. Dr Jost suggests that the engineering institutions and others should be far more active in convening meetings and conferences with user industries, devoted primarily to discussing the avoidable costs of failures, and showing how damage could have been prevented by applying known tribological technology – particularly around green tribology.

"My own figures of savings of £8—10 billion a year in the UK alone [1.1% of NDP] are conservative. But I contend that we could achieve that level of return for an expenditure, mainly on applied research, of around 1—2% of the savings generated." Small beer for very large potential returns: it's time for policy makers, educationalists and industry to wake up and get involved.

Key achievements
Dr Peter Jost has long since enjoyed a reputation as a legend in the fields of solid lubrication and advanced lubricants. He has authored more than 150 publications, including a critical patent and one still classified paper.

Roles in advising government included publication of the 1966 Jost Report for the then Ministry of Technology, which demonstrated that friction and avoidable wear were costing the UK economy huge sums of money every year. As a result, the government of the day helped set up several national centres for tribology, although these have since been subsumed into general engineering.

Dr Jost has received honours from the heads of state of five European countries (the UK, Austria, Germany, France and Poland) as well as the Order of the Rising Sun, from the Emperor of Japan. He has also received professional awards from 14 countries, including the first Achievement for Tribology Gold Medal to be awarded by the Chinese Tribology Institution to a non-Chinese recipient.

He also holds two honorary professorships and 10 honorary doctorates. Other achievements include: the Peter Jost Enterprise Centre established at John Moores University Liverpool (1995); Jost Institute for Tribotechnology, established at University of Central Lancashire (2002); and the Jost Chair of Engineering Tribology, founded at the University of Leeds (2003). China awarded him the title: Science and Technology Ambassador in 2005.

Before his retirement in 2006, Peter Jost was chairman of several industrial technology companies. In 2009 he co-launched the concept of green tribology – tribological science and technology as applied to the ecological balance and environmental and biological impacts – paving the way for the first Green Tribology World Congress, which had 2,000 attendees. He is still president of the International Tribology Council, the world organisation of tribology societies.

Brian Tinham

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