Tribology experiments often give us global results—friction force, torque, wear or a coefficient of friction—but not the local contact conditions that produced them. In this webinar, Aydar Akchurin, Xavier Borras and Manoj Rajankunte Mahadeshwara show how simulation can help connect measured behaviour with pressure, deformation, surface gaps and real contact area.

Watch the webinar recording.

What the webinar covers

The session begins with the role of simulation across boundary, mixed and full-film lubrication. It then introduces the Boundary Element Method (BEM), which resolves surface contact efficiently by discretising the interface rather than the full volume of both bodies.

A live TriboSolver Version 3 demonstration shows how to define materials, load, geometry, numerical grid and measured or generated roughness. The resulting plots include contact pressure, elastic displacement, plastic deformation, surface separation and contact-area maps.

Examples and practical limits

Research examples connect calculated contact patches and gaps with ice friction, running-in and electrostatic adhesion. The Q&A also clarifies current boundaries: TriboSolver can model surface evolution using a supplied wear rate, but it does not determine that wear rate from scratch; some coating, thermal and highly complex mixed-lubrication cases require additional or specialised models.

The central message is straightforward: simulation does not replace experiments. It adds local information that experiments may not reveal directly and helps researchers test “what-if” conditions before committing to a full experimental programme.

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