20 Minutes With... Dr. Dong Zhu

Tribology & Lubrication Technology, Nov 2007 by Phipps, Karl M

Working with scientists from around the world, this dedicated researcher is advancing our understanding of gear failures and the surface contact and lubrication analysis methods that may lead to the increase of gear efficiency and durability.

Editor's Note: Dr. Zhu's name was submitted for a 20 Minutes profile by STLE's Gears Technical Committee.

Professional experience

* Eaton Corp., Southfield, Mich., Principal Engineer, 1994-Present.

* Tsinghua University, Beijing, China, Adjunct Professor, 2000-Present.

* Northwestern University, Evanston, Ill., Adjunct Professor, 2002-2004.

* Alcoa, Inc., Pittsburgh, Pa., Staff Engineer, 1991-1994.

* Northwestern University, Evanston, Ill., Center for Engineering Tribology, Research Fellow, 1986-1991.

* Tsinghua University, Beijing, China, State Key Laboratory of Tribology, Assistant Professor, 1984-1986.

Education

* Tsinghua University, Beijing, China. Doctorate in Mechanical Engineering, 1984.

* Tsinghua University, Beijing, China. Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering, 1981.

Professional Affiliations

* STLE

* Member, STLE Annual Meeting Program Committee, 2006-Present.

* Associate Editor, STLE Tribology Transactions, 2003-Present.

* Vice-Chairman and Chairman, STLE Gears and Gear Lubrication Technical Committee, 2004-2006.

* Membership Chairman, SUE Detroit Section, 2001-2004.

* Chairman, STLE Wear Technical Committee, 2001-2003.

* ASME

* Member, ASME Research Committee on Tribology, 2003-Present

* Member, ASME Tribology Division, Honors and Awards Committee, 2003-Present.

Major Awards and Honors

* ASME Fellow, 2007.

* STLE Fellow, 2006.

* STLE Edmond E. Bisson Award, 2003.

* First-Class Award of National Science and Technology Advancement, National Education Commission of China, 1989.

Publications

* Author/co-author of about 75 papers published in technical journals and peer-reviewed conference proceedings.

How did you begin your career working in the field of gear tribology?

In the late 1970s I participated in gear strength research projects and started to use the finite element method (FEM) to evaluate gear tooth bending strength. At that time. I first began writing some early research papers. In 1984 I received my doctorate from Tsinghua University in Beijing, China, where my thesis work was on thermal elastohydrodynamic lubrication (EHL), which is fundamental to gear lubrication. My thesis advisors were professors L. Zheng and S. Wen. In 1986 I joined Northwestern University's Center for Engineering Tribology as a research fellow, working with professor Herbert S. Cheng to develop a Helical Gear Code for prediction of gear tribological performance.

What kinds of products does ?Eaton Corp. manufacture and market?

I joined the Eaton Corporate R&D Center in 1994 Eaton is a global supplier of automobile, truck, hydraulic and aeronautical components and has dominant market shares in North America for many geared products such as heavy-duty truck transmissions.

Eaton offers warranties of 750,000 up to a million miles for heavy-duty transmissions, and each transmission may operate on the road well beyond its warranty. Therefore, gear durability, reliability and efficiency are extremely important, and the market constantly imposes great challenges to R&D engineers. This has been the driving force for my gear research activities to pursue technological advancements for continuously improving gear performance, efficiency, life and reliability.

What do you enjoy the most about your iob?

I enjoy working with both product engineers and university professors as a bridge in between. By doing this I know what the problems are in engineering practice and what advanced technologies are available or ought to be developed. I appreciate that Eaton has provided me with good opportunities to do fundamental research and develop cutting-edge technologies, while tackling practical problems for a wide range of Eaton products.

What are your research focus points in order to solve engineering problems such as pitting and wear failures that often occur in gears?

It is well known that mechanical component failures can be categorized into two groups: structure (or bulk) failures and surface failures. For structure failures, predicting and preventing technologies have been much better developed. For example, not long ago people still relied on photoelasticity experiments, strain gauges and destructive tests to evaluate structure strength. As FEM/CAD technologies have been well developed with commercial software packages readily available, today fewer and fewer people still rely on photoelasticity/strain gauges and destructive tests. Component structure strength can now be quickly and accurately predicted using computers Product design cycles have been shortened greatly, and destructive tests can be avoided in most cases.

On the other hand, it has been found that in reality about 80%-90% of component failures fall in the surface failure category. These include major gear failures such as sliding wear and pitting due to contact fatigue. Unfortunately, so far no commercial software is available that can help engineers to accurately analyze surface strength of various components. In fact, modeling tribological problems and predicting interface performance, strength and life often appear to be a bottleneck in advanced product design and development. My research activities, therefore, have been focused on the following three areas: