India could lead the way in friction technology
Indian state-owned oil refiner, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) are seeking a patent for its latest nanotechnology discovery which may revolutionise the lubricants industry.
BPCL has invested around $2m annually in its R&D programme and has, according to an company source, been focusing on a friction research project for the past three years. The result is new technology which measures friction at the point of contact.
With the company seeking patents on the new technology, details are limited. However, one executive is describing the new machinery as a "game changer" once it is put into commercial production. Although this will take time, BPCL believes the end result will be a revolution in lubes production.
According to the source: “Fundamentally, we have developed a new machine which finds the coefficient of friction at the point of contact. We have built models on how to predict it.” Apparently, to date, this type of measurement is not commercially available anywhere in the world, if at all. The research was conducted by BPCL and the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore.
