Mechanical Engineering Tribology Laboratory
Purdue University School of Mechanical Engineering Purdue University School of Mechanical Engineering Purdue University School of Mechanical Engineering Purdue University School of Mechanical Engineering Purdue University School of Mechanical Engineering

Alumni and Past Students

Former PhD. Students

Ping Chun Sui
Thesis Title: “Elastohydrodynamic Lubrication in Rolling and Sliding Contacts”
Date of Graduation: December 1989
 
Kyung-Hoon Kim
Thesis Title: “Thermal Effects in Elastohydrodynamic Lubrication of Circular and Elliptic Contacts”
Date of Graduation: December 1992
 
Edward J. Berger
Thesis Title: “An Investigation of Friction-Induced Vibration in Automatic Transmission Wet Clutches”
Date of Graduation: August 1996
 
Gang Xu
Thesis Title: “Debris Denting, Spall Initiation and Propagation in Elastohydrodynamic Lubricated Contacts”
Date of Graduation: May 1997
 
David A Nickel
Thesis Title: “Experimental Methods for The Assessment of Tribological Hard Contacts at the Device, Component, and Surface Scales”
Date of Graduation: May 1999
 
Coby Davis
Thesis Title: “Influences of Friction-Induced Thermal Phenomena and Macroscopic Surface Features on the Stability of Thin Disks Subjected to Sliding Contact”
Date of Graduation: August 2002
 
Jiaxin Zhao
Thesis Title: “Start Up and Shutdown Conditions in Elastohydrodynamic Lubrication”
Date of Graduation: August 2002
 
Young S. Kang
Thesis Title: “Debris Effects and Denting Process on Lubricated Contacts”
Date of Graduation: May 2004
 
Nathan Bolander
Thesis Title: “Piston Ring Lubrication and Friction Reduction through Surface Modification”
Date of Graduation: May 2007
 
Jaeyoung Kang
Thesis Title: “Onset of Squeal Vibration and Nonlinear Vibration Response in Disc Brake System”
Date of Graduation: August 2008
 
Nihar Raje
Thesis Title: “Statistical Numerical Modeling of Subsurface Initiated Failure Spalling in Bearing Contacts”
Date of Graduation: December 2008
 
Behrooz Jalalahmadi
Thesis Title: “A new Voronoi Finite Element Fatigue Damage Model”
Date of Graduation: December 2010
 
Trevor Slack
Thesis Title: “Microstructural Effects on High Cycle Fatigue”
Date of Graduation: December 2010
 
ChinPei Wang
Thesis Title: “Thrust Surface Lubrication and Friction Reduction Through Surface Modification”
Date of Graduation: May 2012
 
Benjamin D. Leonard
Thesis Title: “An Experimental and Numerical Investigation of the Effect of Coatings and the Third Body on Fretting Wear”
Date of Graduation: August 2012
 
Nicholas J. Weinzapfel
Thesis Title: “Three-Dimensional Finite Element Modeling of Rolling Contact Fatigue”
Date of Graduation: August 2012
 
Ankur Ashtekar
Thesis Title: “Experimental and Analytical Investigation of Rotor Bearing Systems”
Date of Graduation: August 2012
 
Anurag Warhadpande
Thesis Title: “An Elastic-Plastic Finite Element Model for Rolling Contact Fatigue”
Date of Graduation: August 2012
 
John Bomidi
Thesis Title: “Experimental and three-dimensional finite element investigation of fatigue”
Date of Graduation: August 2013
 
Andrew Cross
Thesis Title: “Hydrodynamic Lubrication of Pocketed Thrust Washers”
Date of Graduation: August 2014
 
Matthew Brouwer
Thesis Title: “Dynamic Performance of Turbocharger Rotor Bearing System”
Date of Graduation: December 2015
 
Sina Mobasher Moghadam
Thesis Title: “Analytical and Experimental Investigation of Microstructural Alterations in Bearing Steel in Rolling Contact Fatigue”
Date of Graduation: December 2015
 
Arnab Ghosh
Thesis Title: “Analytical Investigation of Fretting Wear with Special Emphasis on Stress Based Models”
Date of Graduation: December 2015
 
Neil Paulson
Thesis Title: “Finite Element Modeling of Elastohydrodynamic Lubricated Rolling Contact Fatigue”
Date of Graduation: August 2017
 
Abdullah Alazemi
Thesis Title: “Experimental Investigation of Friction Fundamentals at the Microscale”
Date of Graduation: August 2017
 
Aditya Walvekar
Thesis Title: “Investigations of Material Response to Fatigue Phenomena in Contacting Bodies”
Date of Graduation: December 2017
 
Lijun Cao
Thesis Title: “Dynamic Bearing Simulation Using Combined EFEM-DEM Method”
Date of Graduation: June 2018
 
David Richardson
Thesis Title: “Hydrodynamic Lubrication of Floating Valve Plate in an Axial Piston Pump”
Date of Graduation: May 2019
 
Zamzam Golmohammadi
Thesis Title: “Investigations Of Surface And Subsurface Initiated Failures Of Rolling Contact Fatigue”
Date of Graduation: May 2020
 
Dallin Morris
Thesis Title: “Investigations Of Microstructural Effects in Rolling Contact Fatigue”
Date of Graduation: August 2021
 
Arman Ahmadi
Thesis Title: “Experimental and Analytical Study in Fatigue and Wear of Steel and Nickel-Based Alloys”
Date of Graduation: December 2021
 
Akhil Vijay
Thesis Title: “Modeling of Material Anisotropy in Rolling Contact Fatigue”
Date of Graduation: May 2022
 
Benjamin Conley
Thesis Title: “Experimental and Analytical Investigation of Ball Bearing Turbocharger Dynamics”
Date of Graduation: December 2022
 
Wyatt Peterson
Thesis Title: “Investigation of Rolling Element Bearing Lubrication and Friction”
Date of Graduation: December 2022
 
Kushagra Singh
Thesis Title: “Influence of Surface Features on Tribological and Fatigue Performance of Machine Components”
Date of Graduation: August 2023
 
Thomas Russell
Thesis Title: “Investigation into the Lubrication Mechanism of the Ball Bearing Cage”
Date of Graduation: August 2023
 
Steven Lorenz
Thesis Title: “Investigation of Microstructural Modifications on Rolling Contact Fatigue Performance of Aerospace Bearing Contacts”
Date of Graduation: October 2023
 
Akshat Sharma
Thesis Title: “Material Response to Fretting and Sliding Wear Phenomena”
Date of Graduation: January 2024
 
Abbas Shafiee
Thesis Title: “Performace of Bearing Rotor System under Various Operating Conditions”
Date of Graduation: June 2024
 

Former Masters Students

Timothy J. Schnell
Thesis Title: “Traction Measurements in Elastohydrodynamic Contacts”
Date of Graduation: May 1989
 
Douglas J. Herrmann
Thesis Title: “An Analysis of Lubricated Metal Rolling Using the Finite Element Method”
Date of Graduation: May 1989
 
William D. McClung
Thesis Title: “Interactive Computer Graphics in Elastohydrodynamic Lubrication”
Date of Graduation: May 1990
 
Kevin F. Osborn
Thesis Title: “An Experimental and Analytical Investigation of Heavily Loaded Lubricated Contacts”
Date of Graduation: May 1992
 
Brian J. Lance
Thesis Title: “A Study of the Normal Contact and Tractive Rolling at the Interface of Two Rough Bodies”
Date of Graduation: August 1992
 
Daniel G. Edwards
Thesis Title: “Coating Effects in Heavily Loaded Thermal Line Elastohydrodynamic Lubrication”
Date of Graduation: August 1992
 
Charles A. Navarro
Thesis Title: “An Investigation of Notched Material Response to a Cryogenic Environment”
Date of Graduation: August 1992
 
Joseph M. Ortiz
Thesis Title: “An Application of Volumetric Visualization Technique to Elastohydrodynamic Lubrication Analysis”
Date of Graduation: December 1993
 
Eric J. Trope
Thesis Title: “An Experimental and Analytical Investigation of Friction and Wear in Partial Elastohydrodynamic Lubricated Contacts”
Date of Graduation: May 1994
 
Jeffrey A. Matthews
Thesis Title: “Modeling of Cam Roller Follower Interface”
Date of Graduation: December 1995
 
Young S. Kang
Thesis Title: “A Numerical and Experimental Investigation of Thermal Effects at the Lip Seal Shaft Interface”
Date of Graduation: December 1996
 
Eric M. Phillips
Thesis Title: “Friction and Wear Characterization of PFPE Greases”
Date of Graduation: December 1996
 
Edward Flynn
Thesis Title: “Mechanism of Heavily Loaded Greased Lubricated Contacts”
Date of Graduation: December 1998
 
Clark Jarnagin
Thesis Title: “Friction and Wear Study in a Polymers Belt Drive System”
Date of Graduation: May 1999
 
Sundararaman Ramamurthy
Thesis Title: “Mechanism of Heavily Loaded Greased Lubricated Contacts”
Date of Graduation: December 1999
 
To H. Yu
Thesis Title: “Thrust Washer Lubrication System”
Date of Graduation: May 2000
 
Abhijit Joshi
Thesis Title: “Sensors for Temperature and Strain in Bearings”
Date of Graduation: May 2001
 
Eric Chang
Thesis Title: “Friction and Wear Study in a Polymers Belt Drive System”
Date of Graduation: August 2001
 
Peng Cheng
Thesis Title: “Thrust Washer Lubrication System”
Date of Graduation: August 2001
 
Vishal Saheta
Thesis Title: “Dynamic of Rolling Element Bearings Using Discrete Element Method”
Date of Graduation: December 2001
 
Nathan Bolander
Thesis Title: “An Experimental Investigation of Thrust Washer Lubrication”
Date of Graduation: August 2002
 
Niranjan Ghaisas
Thesis Title: “Dynamics of Cylindrical and Tapered Roller Bearings Using the Discrete Element Method”
Date of Graduation: December 2003
 
Nicholas J. Prenger
Thesis Title: “Modeling of the Dynamics of Rolling Element Bearings Using ADAMS”
Date of Graduation: December 2003
 
Dinesh Bansal
Thesis Title: “Thin Film Sensor Development for Journal Bearing Applications”
Date of Graduation: December 2003
 
Christopher Conklin
Thesis Title: “An Experimental Study of Brake Squeal Mechanism”
Date of Graduation: May 2004
 
Ashwin Kumar
Thesis Title: “Modeling Rough Surface Contact and Its Effects on Automotive Brake Squeal”
Date of Graduation: August 2004
 
Brian Steenwyk
Thesis Title: “An Experimental Investigation of Piston Ring Friction and Surface Modifications”
Date of Graduation: December 2004
 
James J. Benner
Thesis Title: “Effects of Water Contamination in Lubricated Contacts”
Date of Graduation: December 2004
 
David N. Vanderlught
Thesis Title: “Analytical and Experimental Study of Automotive Disc Brake Squeal Vibration”
Date of Graduation: December 2004
 
Bradley M. Pederson
Thesis Title: “The Influence of Cage Flexibility on Bearing Dynamics and Performance”
Date of Graduation: May 2005
 
Lindsay Walthall
Thesis Title: “Modeling and Parametric Study of Air Lubricated Hydrostatic-Hydrodynamic Bearings”
Date of Graduation: August 2006
 
Neelesh Deolalikar
Thesis Title: “Investigation of Subsurface Stresses, Fatigue Life and Flash Temperatures in Mixed Lubricated Elliptical Contacts”
Date of Graduation: December 2006
 
Terry Hui
Thesis Title: “Performance Characteristics of Jet Fuel in Heavily Loaded Contacts”
Date of Graduation: December 2006
 
Amit Vaidya
Thesis Title: “Investigation of Scroll Compressor Thrust Bearing”
Date of Graduation: August 2006
 
Aditya Kasarekar
Thesis Title: “Micro Surface Profiling Effects on Fretting Wear and Bending Fatigue”
Date of Graduation: December 2006
 
Benjamin Leonard
Thesis Title: “Lubrication Effects on Fretting Wear”
Date of Graduation: December 2007
 
Marko Cater
Thesis Title: “An Experimental Investigation of Friction Reduction through Surface Modification”
Date of Graduation: December 2007
 
Asit Desai
Thesis Title: “Analytical and Experimental Investigation of Effect of Cage and Shaft Flexiblitiy on Dynamics of Bearing Shaft Systems”
Date of Graduation: December 2007
 
Nicholas Weinzapfel
Thesis Title: “The Influence of Cage Flexibility on Bearing Dynamics – A Discretel Element Approach”
Date of Graduation: May 2008
 
Ankur Ashtekar
Thesis Title: “Surface Defects in Dynamic Bearing Modeling”
Date of Graduation: August 2008
 
Anurag Warhadpande
Thesis Title: “Investigation on Effects of Fretting Wear on Rolling Contact Fatigue and Characterization of Fatigue Damage Evolution”
Date of Graduation: August 2008
 
Andrew S. Kovacs
Thesis Title: “Early-Warning Wireless Telemeter for Harsh-Environment Bearings”
Date of Graduation: December 2008
 
David Christopher Ruddock
Thesis Title: “Strain Telemetry for Load Identification and Center of Gravity measurement”
Date of Graduation: August 2010
 
Pankaj Madhukar Patil
Thesis Title: “Experimental Investigation of Fretting Wear”
Date of Graduation: August 2010
 
Roshan Narayanan Manibharathi
Thesis Title: “Study on Hertzian Cone Crack in Brittle Materials and Experimental Investigation of Fretting Wear in Bearings using Bearing Fretting Test Rig”
Date of Graduation: November 2011
 
Aditya Anilkumar Dattawadkar
Thesis Title: “Analysis of Wind Turbine Pitch Control Bearings- Discrete Element Method and Finite Element Analysis”
Date of Graduation: 2011
 
Xin Xu
Non-Thesis Masters
Date of Graduation: December 2019
 
Daniel Korn
Thesis Title: “Slide-to-Roll Ratio in Automotive Valve Train Cam and Oscillating Roller Follower”
Date of Graduation: June 2023
 
 

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING TRIBOLOGY LABORATORY
Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907 USA, (765) 494-4600