Mike Ciavarella's blog

An interesting paper by VL Popov which suggests many problems of tribology are still very far from being remotely solved.  Despite the very detailed theories for example on rough contact using fractal surfaces on which we have debated mainly academically , there is not a single theory for any quantitative prediction of friction coefficient which can vary by 1 order of magnitude and its dependence on many variables, let alone wear coefficient which can vary up to 7 orders of magnitude.  What is left to do, other than measure?   Is tribology bound to be in practice just an experimental area? 

As a newcomer in this field, I try to pose some questions to the experts in Variable Amplitude Loading fatigue. The questions are probably trivial, but I don't find any reply in the literature, particularly on the arbitrary choice of frequency cutoff in the spectrum loading, and on the distinction  between cracked and uncracked structures. See attach and please respond if you can, even directly on email at mciava@poliba.it

In the ranking of the Highly Cited Researcher by Clarivate Analytics for 2018 that in Italy includes 95 scientists (of course in all disciplines from Medicine to Engineering) for the first time we have 2 working in my region, Puglia, in the new Cross-Field field.

One in medical field Logroscino Giancarlo (Policlinico di Bari, Associate Professor) University of Bari

While teaching some students from old textbooks, I found reference to "understressing and overstressing" as producing effects into fatigue limits.    Looking at classical papers like  W SCHUTZ, A HISTORY OF FATIGUE Engineering Fracture Mechanics Vol. 54, No. 2, pp. 263-300, 1996, he says that the theory of understressing was largely a mistake due to statistically poor testing.  However, I see some chinese papers still talk of understressing, see below.

  I was about to write to dr Jacob Israelashvili because I was working on some adhesion problem and was wondering how to possibly send it to PNAS, but I read he passed away for cancer....   I had received some email few months ago about another question on his famous SFA and how to give some results useful for his company, he responded from the hospital evidently... that "nothing worries me"... What an example of strength.

There has been much discussion after the very sad collapse of a well known bridge in Genoa, designed by a famous bridge engineer Riccardo Morandi, more than 50 years ago.

You can find some notes here in italian. with an english translation at the bottom.

Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids

Available online 5 March 2018

In Press, Accepted Manuscript — Note to users

Here.  The question of safety especially in US campuses, is serious.

Very terrible news.