Emphasis is on optimizing the utilization of available materials, and incorporating new, sustainable materials into our infrastructure. The relationship of these topics to the overall context of the research program is described below. These focus areas are cross-disciplinary as they encompass geotechnical engineering, geology, geochemistry, mechanical engineering and materials science. Although this research program is in its formative years, it has already influenced the geotechnical engineering community. Cooperative links with industry, government and other researchers are maintained.
Tribology is the study of surfaces, friction, lubrication, and wear of materials in contact.
Geotribology is the combination of tribology and geomechanics principles as applied to geotechnical systems. Development of quantitative parameters for describing surface topography and relating these to geotechnical properties and soil-structure response is a new and exciting area of geotechnical research. Scales of interest extend from nanometers to meters. The goal is to understand how surfaces control interface behavior and develop methods to optimize interface materials for specific applications. However this parameter has practical limitations for making specific surface measurements.