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Polymer Materials Tribology Lab
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A lab that studies friction and wear, from joint lubrication to wear in hydrogen.
AboutAbout the lab
Going beyond mechanical engineering with soft materials and mechanisms
The Design Engineering Lab focuses on "soft" advanced materials, such as biomaterials and soft matter, and "soft" mechanisms, such as phase transitions and mechanical bifurcation phenomena.
Specifically, it studies how biological joints move smoothly, resin materials used in artificial joints, and the friction and wear of sealing resins in hydrogen atmospheres.
Through joint research with overseas research groups, the lab also invites researchers and sends students abroad.
On the lab's website, it is introduced under the name "Design Engineering Lab."
Key terms
- Articular cartilage
- Soft, water-rich tissue that covers the surfaces of joints
- Hydrogel
- A soft polymer material that contains a lot of water. It is being studied as a material for artificial cartilage
- PTFE
- Polytetrafluoroethylene resin. Composites with added fillers are mainly used for sealing components at hydrogen stations
NewsLab news
A fourth-year undergraduate student was recognized as an outstanding presenter at the 57th Student Members' Graduation Research Presentation Meeting of the Kyushu Branch of the Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers
A paper by authors including a working-professional doctoral student was published in TRIBOLOGY INTERNATIONAL
A fourth-year undergraduate student was recognized as an outstanding presenter at the 56th Student Members' Graduation Research Presentation Meeting of the Kyushu Branch of the Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers
ResearchResearch themes
The Design Engineering Lab studies the lubrication mechanisms of biological joints, and the friction and wear of resin materials for artificial joints and of sealing materials in hydrogen. Through experiments and analysis, it examines the friction and wear of materials such as articular cartilage, resins, and polymer hydrogels, and evaluates materials and considers compositions suited to artificial joints and hydrogen seals.
*Illustrative imageMechanisms of superlubricity in biological joints
Knee and hip joints support large loads while reducing friction to about the level of a skate gliding on ice. The lab investigates, through experiments and analysis, the lubrication functions of articular cartilage, its surface, and synovial fluid, and explores how they work together.
*Illustrative imageHigh-strength resins for artificial joints
Artificial joints face the problem that polyethylene lacks sufficient strength and wear resistance. The lab clarifies the sliding motion in the body and the mechanisms of resin wear, establishes a wear test method that can reproduce them, and evaluates the suitability of high-strength resin composites.
*Illustrative imageHydrogel artificial cartilage
The lab aims to design polymer hydrogels, which have flexibility, water content, and water permeability similar to articular cartilage, for use on joint surfaces as artificial cartilage. It evaluates mechanical properties and friction and wear properties in environments that mimic the body, and searches for materials with the required properties.
*Illustrative imageFriction and wear of sealing materials in hydrogen
Resin sealing components are used in the high-pressure hydrogen compressors at hydrogen stations, mainly PTFE composites with added fillers. The lab studies the friction and wear of PTFE composites with different compositions in high-purity hydrogen, in order to clarify the detailed mechanisms.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Design Engineering Lab consist of faculty, a Project Assistant Professor, technical staff, administrative assistants, and students in the doctoral, master's, and undergraduate programs.As of 2026
- ProfessorYoshinori Sawae
- Associate ProfessorSeido Yarimitsu
- Assistant ProfessorKoho Shinmori
- Project Assistant ProfessorWenxiao Li
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Report an errorAbout the images
The top and research theme images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab. They are cropped from Wikimedia Commons images. Cropped CC BY-SA images are provided under the same CC BY-SA license as the original (version shown on each line).
- Top image: “Friction between surfaces” CaoHao / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Mechanisms of superlubricity in biological joints: “Knee joint 2” John Campbell / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- High-strength resins for artificial joints: “Polyethylene balls1” Lluis tgn / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Hydrogel artificial cartilage: “Co Hydrogel Structure” Kassidy Veasaw / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Friction and wear of sealing materials in hydrogen: “Cracking of latex rubber dry suit wrist seal P8180008” Peter Southwood / CC0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Tribology and Lubrication Lab): “Zeller + Gmelin - Drylube E1 Hotmelt Lubricant” Sung-Min Wi (Sungminwi) / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Hydrogen Equipment Tribology Lab): “Rolling-element bearing (numbered)” Niabot / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
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