The National Centre of Tribology (NCT) celebrated its 50th Anniversary at an event held in Birchwood, Warrington last week at which an exciting new collaboration with the Henry Royce Institute was announced.
NCT is operated by ESR Technology from their HQ in Birchwood. ESR Technology and the Henry Royce Institute are to work in collaboration for the advancement of tribology and advanced materials engineering.
The announcement of the collaboration between ESR Technology and the Henry Royce Institute is the first time that a collaboration with an industry provider has been entered in to by the Royce.
Tribology is the science and engineering of interacting surfaces in relative motion. A Working Group under the chairmanship of Peter Jost reported to the Government in 1966, and first coined the word tribology as well as recommending the establishment of three tribology centres in the UK. The National Centre of Tribology (NCT) was one of these founded 1n 1968.
The heritage of ESR Technology stems from nuclear-based atomic energy research in the 1950’s, evolving over decades to become the owner-managed, small and medium sized enterprise (SME) that it is today. ESR Technology provide independent and specialist technical consultancy, products, and services into various sectors including Aerospace, Vacuum, Transport, Oil & Gas and Energy and the Industrial and Manufacturing markets.
Steve Gill, Technical Director at ESR Technology said,
‘Most people outside of engineering or science has never heard of Tribology and yet it benefits us all in our daily lives making machinery operate more efficiently on land, at sea and in space. We are very proud of this new collaboration with the Royce Institute which will provide exciting new areas of Tribology investigation into the future’.
Allan Matthews, Professor of Surface Engineering and Tribology at The University of Manchester and Director of the BP International Centre for Advanced Materials, added,
‘NCT was in the vanguard of the industrial implementation of Tribology and has remained a key provider of advice on best practice in this industrial technology area. There is an excellent fit between the NCT’s activities and the research being pursued within the Royce Partners. I anticipate that the links between the NCT and the Royce will continue to strengthen and this will bring important benefits to the organisations and the country.’
About National Centre of Tribology (NCT)
In 1966 the ‘Jost Report’ led to the development of Tribology as an inter-disciplinary study of friction, wear, and lubrication, as well as the establishment of three tribology centres in the UK. The National Centre of Tribology (NCT) was one of them. Today, NCT is operated by ESR Technology and supports many different industries including rail, oil and gas, nuclear and utilities with a combination of industrial tribology and materials engineering. NCT offers independent and confidential practical solutions by providing consultancy, testing, design and development and forensic engineering. Its understanding of industrial realities enables NCT to explain the root cause of a problem and propose viable solutions to designers and operators of complex machinery which must perform efficiently and reliably in demanding and hostile environments. This collaboration with the Henry Royce Institute for the advancement of tribology and advanced materials engineering is the beginning of a new chapter in NCT’s long and prestigious history.
To find out more about the Royce collaboration with ESR and NTC contact Matthew Davis (Communications & Engagement Manager)
