General description and mission statement

Surface Engineering Laboratory (TribLab) of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of West Attica (UNIWA) constitutes the evolution of the Tribology Laboratory of the Department of Mechanical Engineering of the Technical University of Piraeus. The latter was founded in the 1980s on the initiative of the late Professor Solon Antoniou, and was the first Laboratory in the Greek academic ecosystem with the main research focus on the study of the performance of components surfaces for engineering applications.

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Today, Surface Engineering Laboratory is an autonomous academic/research unit of the Department's Manufacturing Sector, aiming at a holistic approach of research issues, relevant to scientific topics concerning all stages of the life cycle of an engineering component/product.

In particular, the research activities of the Laboratory focus on:

• Contact mechanics and surface reinforcement of metallic components in order to increase their resistance to friction and wear,
• Microstructure characterisation and mechanical properties of metallic materials and
• Performance of surface modified metallic materials under quasi-realistic conditions.

In this context, the Laboratory Faculty Member and Laboratory Associates participates in the trans-departmental Laboratory of Advanced Materials Technology, School of Engineering of the University and is responsible for the teaching of the following undergraduate courses of the Mechanical Engineering Department:

• MM207Ε01 – Surface Engineering
• MM207Ε02 – Advanced Machining Technology II
• ΜΜ208Ε03 – Advanced Welding Technology
• MM006Y04 – Advanced Materials Technology

The Laboratory Equipment is available for the implementation of funded research projects, diploma/doctoral/postdoctoral research tasks, as well as for the support of the Laboratory part of the courses mentioned above.

Surface Engineering Laboratory of the Mechanical Engineering Department of the University of West Attica, is to establish itself as an internationally-known leading academic unit in the field of Tribology and Surface Engineering, educating the skilled personnel of the future on the one hand while simultaneously performing high-quality research in close cooperation with industry, research institutes and social partners on the other.