Research of mechanisms of particles in the friction processes and superlubricity mechanism

Abstract:He invented the measuring instrument for the lubricant thickness in nano-scale with colleagues, put forward the physical model of molecular film lubrication, and established the theory of thin film lubrication (TFL). Together with his students, he measured successfully the motion state and velocity distribution of nanoparticles in liquids, and revealed the behavior of nanoparticles in liquid and the action mechanism of particles with the solid surface in manufacturing process; They firstly directly observed the Marangoni flow in evaporative water droplets, and the puzzle of whether Marangoin flow exists in the evaporation process of water droplets in the past hundred years was solved; A new flow criterion was proposed and applied to wafer manufacturing process, which greatly reduced the amount of the residual particles on the wafer surface and wafers with ultra-smooth surfaces (Ra 0.05nm) have been fabricated. He and his team also have been carried out the researches on superlubricity, which is a widely recognized international frontier direction in the tribology field. A new liquid superlubricity system is discovered, the mechanism of superlubricity in liquids is revealed, and a theoretical model of liquid superlubricity based on friction-induced chemical reaction, hydrodynamic effect, electrical double-layer effect and hydration effect is established by his team. The friction coefficients of both liquid and solid were reduced by them about two orders of magnitude, which is 0.0003 and 0.00004 respectively. Superlubricity is considered to be a completely new technology, which has great application prospects in manufacturing, medical treatment, aviation, aerospace, underwater navigation and so on, which provides an important way to solve the problem of high energy consumption in the world.

Awardee:Luo Jianbin was born in Huxian, Shaanxi Province, China in August 1961. He is a professor of Tsinghua University, academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the expert in tribology. In 1982, Prof. Luo received his BEng degree in Metal Working from Northeastern University in China. He worked at the Xi'an Cable Factory from 1982 until 1985, then continued his studies in Metal Working at Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology. He got his MEng degree in 1988 and worked as a lecturer at Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology until 1991. In 1994, he received his Ph.D. in Mechanical Design and Theory from Tsinghua University prior to joining the university's faculty. In 1999, he won funding of National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars from the Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC); He was honored as the Distinguished Professor for the Chang Jiang Scholar Program in 2002 and was elected as a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2011. Prof. Luo currently is also the member of Executive Committee of the International Tribology Council, the member of Executive Committee of Global Engineering Dean's Council (GEDC), and the editor-in-chief of the Journal “Friction”.

Luo Jianbin has been engaged in researches of nano-tribology and nano-manufacturing. He developed a lubrication film thickness measuring instrument at nanoscale with colleagues, and proposed the physical model and the theory of thin film lubrication. He, with his students, revealed the behavior of nanoparticles in liquid and the action mechanism of particles with the solid surface in manufacturing process, firstly directly observed the Marangoni flow in evaporative water droplets, and proposed a new flow criterion which is applied to wafer manufacturing process and wafers with ultra-smooth surfaces (Ra 0.05nm) have been fabricated. He developed a new research direction of liquid superlubricity, and found a new system of liquid superlubricity, which reduced the friction coefficient of liquid by about two orders of magnitude, and improved the sustained contact pressures in superlubricity state by more than an order of magnitude, which lays a solid foundation for the application of superlubricity. Has won 4 times of national science and technology awards (2 natural science awards, 1 invention award and 1 scientific and technological progress award) and 11 awards at the provincial and ministerial level; He won the highest achievement award of the Chinese Tribology Institution (CTI), and as the first chinese won the STLE highest award – STLE International Award in 2013. He has published more than 400 papers, two books and more than 60 authorized patents. He was the keynote or plenary speaker at over 30 international conferences.