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F. Franek:
"Bionics Aspects In Tribology - Tribo-Bionics";
Keynote Lecture: 6th International Conference on Tribology June 2008 - Balkantrib '08, Sofia, Bulgarien (invited); 06-12-2008 - 06-14-2008; in: "Balkantrib '08", (2008), BT-PP6-1 - BT-PP6-10.

Up till now it is not really common to solve tribological tasks using patterns from bionics. Such biomimetic approaches, of course, have to consider the specific conditions in which the engineering solutions have to prove their ability. If these beneficial conditions (which may be called "tribological biotope") are not provided, the systems tend to fail.
The paper focuses on some requirements from tribological everyday life like suitable friction behaviour and high wear resistance. Solutions are discussed that are provided by nature considering the conditions under which the natural pattern exhibit appropriate characteristics. It is tried to find relations to technical products that intentionally imitate nature for specific applications. The comparison shows properties still lacking in (tribotechnical) engineering but also gives hints for future developments.

bionics, machine elements, natural lubricants, low-friction materials, anti-slip-design

Project Head Friedrich Franek:
Tribologie