Tribology of Cool Polymers
The project is about “cool polymers”, which means both how fantastic they are and how their properties might be affected under cryogenic (very low) temperatures and various demanding environments. The research is done with focus on tribology (when the parts are in relative motion, the surfaces experiences friction and wear). The new technologies require utilization of low temperatures, for example, in the space, where there is vacuum and almost 4 K temperature, or evolving hydrogen, which in liquid form has a temperature of about -250oC. The idea is to replace the steel as a material, which has a lot of drawbacks, like embrittlement and high conductivity, with polymers that has some brilliant properties, but not well studied yet.
Contact:
Maksim Nikonovich
