Subhankar Das Bakshi B.E., M.Phil. (Cantab) Darwin College University of Cambridge Materials Science and Metallurgy Pembroke Street, Cambridge CB2 3QZ, U.K. sd444@cam.ac.uk +44 1223 334336

Tribological behaviour of nanostructured bainitic steel

Abrasive wear of steel is a pernicious form of wear prominent in mining industries. The process of abrasive wear is quite complex and dynamic, as it involves system of at least two bodies with dissimilar properties, relative motion, force and often the presence of a lubricating fluid together with a constant change in the physical and chemical properties of the elements involved with time.

Steel is the major commercially available material used in mining equipment and is often used in the quenched and tempered martensitic condition to optimise abrasion resistance. It is generally believed that a combination of hardness, toughness and work-hardening capacity contributes to wear resistance, but a thorough understanding of the relationship between microstructure, properties and mechanism has yet to be developed.

The mechanisms of abrasion as a function of microstructure is therefore being investigates. This includes effect of phase mixtures, their properties relative to specific abradants. The goal also is to develop systems which outperform the products currently available for the mining industries.

The work is funded by Tata Steel.

My M.Phil. qualification is in Micro and Nanotechnology from the University of Cambridge, with the thesis related to the electrical characterisation of gallium nitride under the supervision of Dr Rachel A Oliver .

Other Interests

Apart from fiddling with microscopes, I love to dabble with chromatic harmonica and enjoy riding a motorcycle in the rain.

Publications

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