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EU funding (€2,453,946): Constructing the continuum-physics core of a digital twin for tribological contacts under boundary and mixed lubrication conditions Hor23 Jul 2025 EU Research and Innovation programme "Horizon"
Overview
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Constructing the continuum-physics core of a digital twin for tribological contacts under boundary and mixed lubrication conditions
A non-empirical continuum-physics-based digital twin for boundary and mixed lubricated tribosystems (the LubeTwin) would revolutionize the design and operation of sliding contacts in machines. Today, reliable continuum models of thermo-elasto-hydrodynamic lubrication (TEHL) are routinely used for component design. However, these standard TEHL models are considered to be invalid when the sliding surfaces are not separated by a thick enough lubricant film. My preliminary work suggests that TEHL can then still be applied provided constitutive equations (CEs) are employed that consider finite-size effects such as slip and lubricant layering at walls. Based on my hypothesis that the Reynolds lubrication equation works down to sub-monolayer lubricant films, the construction of a LubeTwin is proposed that quantitatively describes all microscale lubrication regimes in engineering sliding contacts – from dry sliding to hydrodynamic lubrication. This is achieved by a massive effort to produce a variety of atomistic benchmark data by molecular dynamics (MD) with non-reactive force fields for the lubricant rheology and with machine learning potentials for the lubricant-surface tribochemistry. Coarse-grained extreme-scale MD of lubricated µm-sized rough surfaces and high-throughput all-atom MD for nm-sized parallel channels will allow for an effective validation and training of novel physics-based CEs for an extended TEHL model. This makes the proposed LubeTwin a predictive tool linking nanoscale molecular structure of constituents to the friction of components at the macroscale. The final goal is to quantitatively describe lubrication in tribological experiments under high loads and to predict optimal conditions for super-low friction and wear in energy-efficient and sustainable machines. Embedded in a large interdisciplinary environment of multiscale modelers and experimentalists, a team of nine scientists will find ideal conditions to realize the vision of LubeTwin.
Funded Companies:
| Company name | Funding amount |
| FRAUNHOFER GESELLSCHAFT ZUR FORDERUNG DER ANGEWANDTEN FORSCHUNG e. V. | €2,453,946 |
Source: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101201061
The filing refers to a past date, and does not necessarily reflect the current state. The current state is available on the following page: Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der angewandten Forschung e. V., Munich, Germany.
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