Postgraduate/specialization course — Tribocorrosion : fundamentals and engineering applications

In many engineering situations materials surfaces are exposed to the combined attack by corrosion and abrasion or other mechanical loadings. The material transformation caused by a tribological contact in chemically reactive environments is known as tribocorrosion. Tribocorrosion is found in a great a new variety of engineering applications such as seals and bearings for hydrogen transportation, valves and pumps for chemicals, biomedical implants, power plants, geothermal and marine installations and many others. Tribocorrosion can not be predicted solely by considering the involved phenomena (corrosion and tribology) separately but requires an integrated approach. This course is intended to give to the participants (graduates, researchers and industrial professionals) a solid basic background in tribocorrosion. It covers the basic concepts of tribology, corrosion and tribocorrosion, the description of the experimental techniques and of the existing interpretation tools and prcatical cases illustrating how to apply the theoretical background into real practice. At the end of the course participants will have the tools to identify and to approach tribocorrosion problems.