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Lubricants
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Space Tribology
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Space Tribology

A special issue of Lubricants (ISSN 2075-4442).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2025 | Viewed by 2114

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Wanyou Yang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China
Interests: space tribology and reliability engineering; interfacial mechanics
Dr. Wei Song

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
Interests: nanotribology; solid–liquid interface; lubricant additives
Dr. Shouyi Sun

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Engineering Mechanics, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an 710129, China
Interests: tribology of hard coatings; superlubricity
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue, entitled "Space Tribology", focuses on the key problems of friction, wear, and lubrication for tribo-pairs in space environments. It addresses the distinctive challenges presented by conditions such as vacuum, microgravity, extreme temperatures, and radiation exposure, which significantly impact material behavior and performance. Articles within this Special Issue aim to explore cutting-edge developments in materials science, including the design and application of low-friction coatings, advanced lubricants, and durable materials capable of withstanding harsh space conditions. Moreover, this Special Issue aims to encompasses research focused on novel lubrication strategies and tribological testing methodologies conducted in space simulators to simulate and analyze real-world scenarios encountered during space missions. Case studies featured in this Special Issue highlight practical challenges and solutions related to tribological issues in space exploration, providing valuable insights for engineers, researchers, and space agencies aiming to enhance the reliability, efficiency, and longevity of space technologies. Ultimately, this Special Issue aims to serve as a comprehensive repository of knowledge aimed at advancing the understanding and application of tribology in space exploration contexts.

Dr. Wanyou Yang
Dr. Wei Song
Dr. Shouyi Sun
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Lubricants is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • spacecraft tribo-testing
  • tribological performance of spacecraft components
  • vacuum environment tribology
  • spacecraft lubrication strategies
  • contact mechanics in space
  • surface roughness effects on tribology in space
  • friction reduction in space applications
  • space debris tribological interactions
  • thermal stability of lubricants in space
  • wear resistance of materials in space environments
  • solid lubricants for space applications
  • fluid film lubrication in microgravity
  • reliability of spacecraft systems under tribological stress
  • material desigh for space tribological applications
  • high-temperature tribology in space missions
  • environmental effects on tribology in space
  • nano-coatings for enhanced tribological performance in space
  • tribology in spacecraft propulsion systems
  • reliability engineering for tribological components in space
  • experimental methodologies for space tribology research

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 15131 KiB  
Article
Friction and Wear Properties of AgCuNi Alloy/Au-Electroplated Layer Sliding Electrical Contact Material
by Hongjian Wu, Yanan Zhang, Hui Cao, Han Li, Qingjian Jia and Ming Ma
Lubricants 2024, 12(12), 450; https://doi.org/10.3390/lubricants12120450 - 16 Dec 2024
Viewed by 915
Abstract
Understanding the tribological properties of alloy-based sliding electrical contacts is crucial for both fundamental research and practical applications. Here, to explore the friction, wear, and contact resistance of a AgCuNi alloy/Au-electroplated layer during sliding, a ball-on-disk tribometer was coupled with a source meter. [...] Read more.
Understanding the tribological properties of alloy-based sliding electrical contacts is crucial for both fundamental research and practical applications. Here, to explore the friction, wear, and contact resistance of a AgCuNi alloy/Au-electroplated layer during sliding, a ball-on-disk tribometer was coupled with a source meter. The experiments were conducted under various conditions including a current ranging from 0 to 1.0 A, a normal load ranging from 0.5 to 3.0 N, and a sliding speed of 40 mm/s. The results indicate that the wear of the friction pair is aggravated by both the current and the increase in the normal load. When the current was 0.5 A, the wear loss reached its lowest point. However, as the current increased from 0.5 A to 1.0 A, there was an intensification in Ag transfer from the alloy ball to the Au-electroplated layer, resulting in an increase in wear loss. Both the normal load and current have significant effects on both friction coefficient and contact resistance. The variation in contact resistance over time follows a similar pattern to that of the friction coefficient over time. The formation of a transfer film plays a crucial role in determining contact resistance, wear resistance, and friction coefficient. The experiment demonstrates that optimizing the normal load and current can adjust both the contact resistance and friction coefficient, thereby prolonging service life and ensuring the stability of contacts. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Space Tribology)
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14 pages, 7699 KiB  
Article
Investigation of Tribological Performance of Ti:WS2/PFPE Composite Lubricating System Under Proton Radiation
by Jian Liu, Zhen Yan, Junying Hao and Weimin Liu
Lubricants 2024, 12(12), 403; https://doi.org/10.3390/lubricants12120403 - 21 Nov 2024
Viewed by 662
Abstract
The tribological performance of PFPE oil and the Ti:WS2/PFPE composite lubricating system with different oil amounts was investigated under a proton radiation (PR) irradiation environment. After PR irradiation, PFPE molecules occurred during cross-linking and a polymerization reaction and formed a volatile [...] Read more.
The tribological performance of PFPE oil and the Ti:WS2/PFPE composite lubricating system with different oil amounts was investigated under a proton radiation (PR) irradiation environment. After PR irradiation, PFPE molecules occurred during cross-linking and a polymerization reaction and formed a volatile small molecular compound, which deteriorates the tribological performance of the Ti:WS2/PFPE system. The tribological properties of the Ti:WS2/PFPE system rely strongly on oil amount. For an unirradiated Ti:WS2/PFPE system, the amorphous layer of transfer film near the sliding contact area was converted into a well-defined crystalline WS2 layer with a (002) plane induced by the friction process. After PR irradiation, the transfer film became thicker and showed a wholly amorphous structure due to the difficulty in preventing the entrance of O and showed no reorientation with induced friction. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Space Tribology)
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