MOSTAFA ELLAITHY
Dr. Mostafa Ellaithy obtained his BEng in Mechanical Engineering in 2016 and MSc in Sustainable Energy Technologies in 2017 from the University of Southampton. He graduated with a PhD from the University of Southampton in 2022. His PhD thesis is entitled “Further Understanding of Dark Etching Region and White Etching Bands Development in Bearing Steels due to Rolling Contact Fatigue’.
Mostafa’s BEng project involved the development of low friction Ni-P coatings with WS2 as a solid lubricant on steel substrates, to optimize coating performance for automotive applications. This involved synthesizing coatings under different parameters, testing the hardness and evaluation of wear and friction performance of the coatings. In his MSc project, Mostafa investigated the failure of wind turbine bearings due to rolling contact fatigue induced white etching cracks (WECs), in collaboration with Schaeffler Technologies. In this project, through the analysis of a large amount of laboratory test data, Mostafa was able to establish correlations between bearing operating conditions and the formation of WECs.
In 2018, Mostafa started a PhD at the national Centre for Advanced Tribology at Southampton (nCATS) under the supervision of Prof. Ling Wang, Dr. Terry Harvey from the University of Southampton and Dr. Bernd Vierneusel from Schaeffler Technologies. During his PhD, Mostafa investigated the initiation and formation mechanisms of subsurface microstructural alterations in bearings due to RCF, known as dark etching regions (DERs) and white etching bands (WEBs). Through detailed analysis using a wide range of techniques, including SEM, EBSD, TEM, FIB/APT and nanoindentation, he made a number of novel findings and significant contributions to this field. For example, the link between the development of DERs and WEBs is through a repetitive cycle of energy build-up and release with a series of recrystallization and recovery occurring in the material.
Mostafa has been involved in outreach and teaching throughout his time at Southampton University. He has been a teaching assistant and demonstrator in various engineering modules, spanning from foundation year to fourth year courses and has co-supervised various BEng and MSc projects. Due to his dedication and contribution to tribology research, Mostafa has been the recipient of a number of awards, including the IMechE Mission of Tribology Award in 2019 and the STLE Best Young Presenter Award in 2021.
Towards the end of his PhD, Mostafa worked on a space tribology project funded through SPRINT, where nCATS and LENA Space worked together to develop cryogenic bearing and seal technologies for a 60 kN rocket engine. Mostafa conducted a comprehensive analysis of heat generation and dissipation in the bearings, surface and subsurface analysis of shaft materials and supervised the testing of new bearing materials in laboratory.
Mostafa is a highly accomplished young tribologist who is passionate in pursing an academic career in tribology. He has now started a post-doctoral research fellow position at the University of Southampton, co-sponsored by Schaeffler Technologies. He is investigating the initiation mechanisms and drivers of butterflies and WECs formation in rolling element bearings.
Mostafa is a very worthy winner of the 2022 Tribology Bronze Medal.