Test & Analysis Equipment

The Leonardo Centre research is carried out in state of the art laboratories that cover bench top testing with bespoke and industry standard tribometers, large scale component testing, surface metrology and analysis.

Standard Tribometer TE54

Industry Standard Tribometers

We have a wide range of laboratory standard bench top tribometers. We use these for the measurement of friction, wear, and lubrication in a wide range of configurations and applications. Our equipment portfolio includes: twin disk testers, Bruker UMT Tribometers, Phoenix TE54 Traction Rig, Phoenix TE77 pin on disk tester, Phoenix TE67 universal tribometer, Biceri Universal Test Rig, Pendulum Slip Resistance Tester, rubber wheel abrasion tester.

Full size railway wheel on rail test rig

Bespoke Tribometers and Component Testing

We build our own equipment to test components and devices. A machine element wear or lubrication is best tested in as close as possible environment to that in which it operates. We aim to test the whole component under realistic load, speed, and environmental conditions. We use advanced sensors and instrumentation to measure as much as possible about the tribological contact.

We have component testers for; hydrodynamic journal bearings (BAXTER), dynamic bearing rig (BETTY), wind turbine gearbox bearings, full size railway wheel on rail, aircraft landing gear joints (JUNIPER), screw fasteners, automotive drive chains, cylinder head cam/tappet rigs, motored and fired auto engines, motored cylinder heads, strip metal rolling, and differential shape rolling.

Alicona & PhD Student with Mask

Surface Metrology

We have a range of surface analysis equipment located in a clean room adjacent to our main test lab. The portfolio includes; Hitachi TM3030 SEM, Alicona Infinifocus, Mitutuyo Profilometer, Fischerscope X-ray, TA Instruments HR10 Rheometer, Bruker Hysitron Nano-Indentor, hardness and scratch testers, and a range of conventional and confocal microscopes.