Abstract: Tribology, contact mechanics, and structural dynamics are three sub-disciplines of mechanical engineering that are each concerned with the study of interfaces in mechanical systems. Despite this, these three sub-disciplines have remained separate due to length scale considerations, solution techniques, and response metrics. As a result, common problems solved within one of these sub-disciplines rarely affects research within the other sub-disciplines. To address this, the field of Tribomechadynamics was founded to bridge length scales from the nano- and micro-structural characterizations of tribology to the macroscale modeling of structural dynamics. The goal of this new field is three fold: to develop predictive models of jointed structures that can be used to affect the design phase of a product, to predict the degradation of an interface over time due to wear/fretting, and to enable the optimization of jointed structures to reduce weight, be wear resistant, or have advantageous properties. This talk presents the emerging field of Tribomechadynamics in the context of both the applications that it addresses (such as aeroturbines and aerospace vehicles) and the basic research being used to advance our physical understanding of assembled systems. Through a series of experimental studies, Tribomechadynamics has been able to elucidate the sources of variability typically observed in jointed systems, allowing for repeatable measurements and validated, multiscale models. This talk concludes with open research questions and areas for future investigations in this nascent field.

Biosketch: Professor Brake started at Rice University in 2016 after working at Sandia National Laboratories for nine years. Prior to Sandia, Prof. Brake graduated from Carnegie Mellon University in 2007. Prof. Brake has been elected to several leadership positions, including as the chair of the ASME Research Committee on the Mechanics of Jointed Structures, the vice-chair of the Nonlinear Dynamics Technical Division of SEM, and as the secretary of the ASME Technical Committee on Vibration and Sound. He is a recipient of the 2012 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the NSF CAREER Award, and he recently won the 2018 C.D. Mote Jr Early Career Award. Much of Prof. Brake’s career has focused on developing large scale collaborations and supporting graduate student education. To this end, he founded and directed both the Tribomechadynamics Research Camp at Rice University and the Nonlinear Mechanics and Dynamics (NOMAD) Institute at Sandia National Laboratories. In 2019, he co-founded the Additive Manufacturing, Performance, and Tribology (AMPT) Center at Rice University, which is focused on large scale industrial-academic collaborations. His primary research interests are in interfacial mechanics, tribology, additive manufacturing, surrogate modeling, uncertainty propagation, and nonlinear dynamics.