Dr. Timothy C. Ovaert

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University of Notre Dame
College of Engineering
Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering
ProfessorAppointed: 2000
Professional Headshot of Timothy C. Ovaert

Mailing Address

146 Multidisciplinary Research Bldg.
Notre Dame, Indiana 46556
United States

Contact Information

Phone: (574) 631-9371
Fax: (574) 631-2144
tovaert@nd.edu
http://www.nd.edu/~ame/facultystaff/Ovaert,Timothy.html

Qualifications

Ph.D., Northwestern University, Mechanical Engineering, 1989.
M.E.M., Northwestern University, Engineering Management, 1985.
B.S.M.E., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Mechanical Engineering, 1981.

Expertise and Research Interests

Dr. Ovaert's major research thrusts are in high performance materials and materials characterization for tribological (friction and wear), structural, biomedical, and manufacturing applications such as high-performance polymers; polymeric matrix composites; polymer thin-films; elastomers; carbon-carbon composites; ceramics; diamond, diamond-like carbon, and cubic boron nitride (CBN) thin-films; solid lubricants; and novel surface modification techniques to enhance friction and wear capabilities including self-lubricating thin-films and coatings. Dr. Ovaert is also engaged in tissue engineering, and mechanical characterization of bone (human and non-human) for bioengineering and pharmaceutical research applications.

Additional areas of research include orthopedic implant design, material and geometrical effects on brake (both aircraft and automotive) performance, mechanical characterization of "liquid-like" coatings via indentation methods, understanding fundamental friction mechanics during machining, the effects of surface texture on fundamental friction and wear modes in boundary lubricated contacts, modeling friction-induced heating in reciprocating shaft seals, and the study of both sliding and erosive wear of elastomers.

Experimental characterization facilities include vacuum machining and wear testing, pin-on-disk, ball-on-flat, nanoindentation, nanoscratching, microindentation, and microscratching. In addition, he is active in the development of theoretical material behavioral models to predict material system performance and foster future improvements, such as advanced analytical and finite element contact models and the study of the mechanics of polymer scratching incorporating visco-elastic/visco-plastic material considerations.

Other Expertise

Business Experience:
Dr. Ovaert gained industrial experience as a plant engineer in a large primary metals manufacturing facility. Responsibilities included new equipment selection, acquisition, and installation; manufacturing process design; facilities expansion; and equipment design.

Consultant:
Dr. Ovaert has served as a technical consultant to over 25 industrial firms from small to Fortune 50 size. He is familiar with the integration of design into a manufacturing environment, the technical needs of industry, aswell as the impact of R & D on manufacturing and product design. His qualifications also enable him to consult on such issues as manufacturing, product design reviews, and R&D management. Dr. Ovaert has also served as a retained expert in legal cases, and has experience preparing expert reports and working in a legal environment.

Future Research

Linking structure-property relationships between atomistic and continuum scales in biomedical polymers, tissue engineering, thermomechanical effects on the tribological behavior of anisotropic materials, and novel coatings for dry machining applications.

Industrial Relevance

Dr. Ovaert's work on organic thin-film materials characterization is unique and of interest to a wide range of industries including paint/protective coatings, flooring, and biomedical applications. His research in the area of cutting tool coatings is of interest to tooling manufacturers and those interested in the application of protective coatings. His work in wear and wear modeling is of interest to mechanical designers and those who are concerned with component design and failure analysis.

Keywords

COS Keywords:

Composite Materials, Consulting Services, Contact Stress Analysis, Elastomers or Coatings, Engineering Design, Failure Mechanics, Friction or Wear Lubrication, Legal Service, Machine Design, Manufacturing (Mechanical Engineering), Mechanical Engineering, Mechanical Systems, Mechanics, Medical Device Engineering, Polymer Science, Thin Films, Tribology.

Additional Terms:

Bioengineering, Composites, Erosion, Expert Witness, Modeling, Scratching, Solid Lubricant, Surface Modification, Thin Film.

Languages

(Reading, Writing, Speaking)

Spanish: (Basic, Basic, Basic)

Memberships

American Society of Mechanical Engineers

Honors and Awards

2006, Fellow, American Society of Mechanical Engineers
1998, Burt L. Newkirk Award, American Society of Mechanical Engineers
1993, Ralph R. Teetor Educational Award, Society of Automotive Engineers
1992, National Young Investigator, National Science Foundation

Previous Positions

1989-2000, Professor, Pennsylvania State University
1986, Mechanical Engineer, National Institute of Standards and Technology
1981-1985, Plant Engineer, Wells Mfg. Co., Dura-Bar Division

Patents

Dual Stiffness Flooring, Patent Number: 5542221, 1996, Institution-owned, United States of America.

Funding Received

  • National Institutes of Health (NIH): Growth of Trabecular Bone Damage due to Off-Axis Loads, $214,650, 2008 to 2009.
  • Mississippi State University: Hybrid Cellular Automata for Vehicle Structural Design for Improved Soldier Crash Survivability, $1,143,691, 2008 to 2009.
  • National Institutes of Health (NIH): Growth of Trabecular Bone Damage due to Off-Axis Loads, $206,514, 2007 to 2008.
  • Eli Lilly Co.: Nanoindentation Study H4Z-MC-GJAD, $47,700, 2007 to 2009.
  • U. S. Army - TATRC Program: Orthopaedic Implant Design and Manufacturing for Traumatic Injuries, $1,681,001, 2007 to 2010.
  • National Institutes of Health (NIH): Growth of Trabecular Bone Damage due to Off-Axis Loads, $195,496, 2006 to 2007.
  • Zimmer Holdings, Inc.: Mechanical Modeling and Wear of Orthopedic Hydrogels, $82,859, 2006 to 2008.
  • Cabot Corporation: Nanoscale Simulation of Chemical Mechanical Polishing, $72,000, 2005 to 2005.
  • Borg Warner Inc.: Investigation of Diesel Lacquers, $38,303, 2005 to 2005.
  • National Institutes of Health (NIH): Growth of Trabecular Bone Damage due to Off-Axis Loads, $265,500, 2005 to 2006.
  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Computer Modeling and Etiological Investigation of Acute Injury Risk, $347,200, 2005 to 2007.
  • Indiana University School of Medicine: Mechanical Characterization of Bone via Nanoindentation, $3,300, 2004 to 2004.
  • Center for Molecularly Engineered Materials - Notre Dame: Tribological Investigation of the Carbon-Carbon Composite Brake System, $150,000, 2001 to 2006.
  • Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.: Cure Monitoring by Indentation Experiments and Numerical Simulations Air Products and Chemicals, Inc., $80,000, 2000 to 2001.
  • Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.: Development of Analytical Methods and Mechanical Hardware for Cure Monitoring of Organic Coatings, $75,000, 1999 to 2000.
  • Armstrong World Industries, Inc.: Interactive Design and Modeling of Visco-Elastic Multi-Layered Materials, $303,236, 1998 to 2001.
  • Advanced Refractory Technologies, Inc.: Friction and Endurance of DLNC Coatings, $32,000, 1997 to 1998.
  • Armstrong World Industries, Inc.: Analysis of Particle Interaction With Visco-Elastic Multi-Layered Materials, $263,741, 1996 to 1998.
  • Kennametal, Inc., Valenite, Inc., Balzers, Inc., Sandvik Coromant.: Cubic Boron Nitride Based PVD Coatings For Hard Coating Applications (Consortium), $375,000, 1996 to 1999.
  • Applied Research Laboratory - Penn State University: Tribological Investigation of the Effect of Superionicity (Sublattice Melting) In the Mechanism of Solid Lubrication, $43,543, 1994 to 1996.
  • Conair Group, Ben Franklin Technology Center: Wear of Tubing Elbows in Plastic Chip Conveying, $127,267, 1993 to 1996.
  • Teledyne Fluid Systems - Hyson Division: Sliding Friction in Pressurized Gas Cylinders, $54,420, 1993 to 1994.
  • Alcoa: Tribology of Amorphous Carbon and Boron Nitride Thin Films, $7,500, 1993 to 1994.
  • Ford Motor Co.: Tribology of Amorphous Carbon and Boron Nitride Thin Films, $17,500, 1993 to 1995.
  • Kennametal, Inc., Ben Franklin Technology Center of PA: Cubic Boron Nitride and Diamond PVD Coatings, $100,000, 1993 to 1994.
  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): Dually Stiff Floors for Injury Prevention in the Elderly, $650,852, 1992 to 1996.
  • National Science Foundation (NSF): Friction Reduction and Enhanced Adhesion of Amorphous Carbon and Boron Nitride Thin-Films, and the Development of an Elevated Temperature Solid-Lubricating Composite., $315,000, 1992 to 1999.
  • Baxter Healthcare - Fenwal Division: Tribological Investigation of Separation Devices, $100,000, 1990 to 1992.
  • National Science Foundation (NSF): Fatigue Wear, Material Transfer, and Surface Enhancement of Polymers and Polymer Composites, $69,005, 1990 to 1993.

Publications

  • Liu, K., M. R. VanLandingham, T. C. Ovaert (2008) Mechanical Characterization of Soft Viscoelastic Gels via Indentation and Optimization-Based Inverse Finite Element Analysis, Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials, Submitted
  • Zhang, J., E. Kuhl, T. C. Ovaert (2008) Simulation of Micro-Indentation Behavior of Bone via a Plastic-Damage Model, Journal of Biomechanics, Submitted
  • Wang, J., T. C. Ovaert (2008) Computational Mechanical Property Determination of Viscoelastic/Plastic Materials from Nanoindentation Creep Test Data, Journal of Materials Research, Submitted
  • He, L., T. C. Ovaert (2008) Heat Partitioning Coefficient Calculations for Sliding Contacts with Friction, Tribology Transactions, 51 (1), 12-18
  • He, L., T. C. Ovaert (2008) Three-Dimensional Rough Surface Contact Model for General Anisotropic Materials, ASME Trans., Journal of Tribology, 130, 021402
  • Liu, K., T. C. Ovaert, J. J. Mason (2008) Mechanical Behavior of Hydrogels, Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Medicine, 19 (4), 1815-1821, In Press
  • Zhang, J., G. L. Niebur, T. C. Ovaert (2007) Mechanical Property Determination of Bone Through Nano- and Micro-Indentation Testing and Finite Element Simulation, Journal of Biomechanics, 41 (2), 267-275
  • Lin, Y., T. C. Ovaert (2006) Thermal Distortion of an Anisotropic Elastic Half-Plane and its Application in Contact Problems Including Frictional Heating, ASME Trans., Journal of Tribology, 128 (1), 32-39
  • Lin, Y., T. C. Ovaert (2004) A Rough Surface Contact Model for General Anisotropic Materials, ASME Trans., Journal of Tribology, 126 (1), 41-49
  • Lin, Y., T. C. Ovaert (2004) Indentation of An Anisotropic Half-Space By a Heated Flat Punch, ASME Trans., Journal of Applied Mechanics, 71 (2), 266-272
  • Lin, Y., T. C. Ovaert (2004) A Two-Dimensional Thermoelastic Rough Surface Contact Model, ASME Trans., Journal of Tribology, 126 (3), 430-435
  • Lin, Y., T. C. Ovaert (2004) Thermoelastic Problems for the Anisotropic Elastic Half-Plane, ASME Trans., Journal of Tribology, 126 (3), 459-465
  • Shi, D., Lin, Y., T. C. Ovaert (2003) Indentation of An Orthotropic Half-Space By a Rigid Ellipsoidal Indenter, ASME Trans., Journal of Tribology, 125 (2), 223-231
  • Ovaert, T. C., Kim, B.-R., J. Wang (2003) Multi-parameter Models of the Viscoelastic/Plastic Mechanical Properties of Coatings Via Combined Nanoindentation and Non-Linear Finite Element Modeling, Progress in Organic Coatings, 47 (3-4), 312-323
  • Lin, Y., T. C. Ovaert (2003) The Stress and Displacement Fields Produced in a Semi-infinite Solid By a Uniform Heat Source Over a Rectangular Area on the Surface, ASME Trans., Journal of Tribology, 125 (4), 709-712
  • Ovaert, T. C., J. Pan (2002) Optimal Design of Layered Structures Under Normal (Frictionless) Contact Loading, ASME Trans., Journal of Tribology, 124 (3), 438-442
  • Parmigiani, J. P., T. C. Ovaert (2000) The Transient Temperature Distribution in a Heavy Duty Drum Brake System During Fatigue Crack Testing, SAE Transactions, Journal of Passenger Cars - Mechanical Systems, 109 (6), 529-534
  • Ramachandra, S., T. C. Ovaert (2000) Effect of Coating Geometry on Contact Stresses in Two-Dimensional Discontinuous Coatings, ASME Trans., Journal of Tribology, 122 (4), 665-671
  • Parmigiani, J. P., T. C. Ovaert (1999) Crack Resistance of Cast Iron Drums in Non-Asbestos Lining Systems, SAE Transactions, Journal of Passenger Cars, 108 (6), 2486-2489
  • Ovaert, T. C., G. Talmage (1999) The Temperature of Sliding Contacts: Application to the Anisotropic Half-Space, Tribology Transactions, 42 (3), 654-660
  • Casalena, J. A., T. C. Ovaert, P. R. Cavanagh, D. A. Streit (1998) The Penn State Safety Floor: Part I--Design Parameters Associated With Walking Deflections, ASME Trans., Journal of Biomechanical Engineering, 120 (4), 518-526 Abstract
  • Ovaert, T. C, J. A. Badger (1998) Sliding Friction and Heat Generation in Pressurized U-Cup Seals Under Low-Speed Reciprocating Conditions, ASME Trans., Journal of Tribology, 120 (2), 325-331
  • Casalena, J. A., A. Badre-Alam, T. C. Ovaert, P. R. Cavanagh, D. A. Streit (1998) The Penn State Safety Floor: Part II--Reduction of Fall-Related Peak Impact Forces on the Femur, ASME Trans., Journal of Biomechanical Engineering, 120 (4), 527-532 Abstract
  • Ovaert, T. C. (1997) Wear of Unidirectional Polymer Matrix Composites with Fiber Orientation in the Plane of Contact, Tribology Transactions, 40 (2), 227-234
  • Ramachandra, S., T. C. Ovaert (1997) The Effect of Controlled Surface Topographical Features on the Unlubricated Transfer and Wear of PEEK, Wear, 206, 94-99
  • Ovaert, T. C., S. Ramachandra (1997) Wear Particle Formation of Polymers Against Smooth Hardened Steel Counterfaces, Tribology Transactions, 40 (3), 445-452
  • Ramachandra, S., T. C. Ovaert (1995) The Effect of Controlled Counterface Topography on Polymer Transfer and Wear, International Journal of Machine Tools and Manufacture, 35 (2), 311-316
  • Ovaert, T. C. (1995) On the Wear Behavior of Longitudinally (Parallel) Oriented Unidirectional Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Composites, Tribology Transactions, 38 (1), 27-34
  • Ovaert, T. C., S. Ramachandra, G. N. McQuay (1995) Friction Studies of Coated and Uncoated Cemented Carbide in Controlled Environment, Journal of the Korean Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers, 11 (5), 66-70
  • Haverstick, J. K., T. C. Ovaert (1995) Polymer/Metal Conformal Sliding Contact With Forced Convective Cooling, ASME Trans., Journal of Tribology, 117 (1), 1-8
  • Wu, J. P., T. C. Ovaert (1994) Effect of Asperity-Scale Tensile Stresses on the Wear Behavior of Normally-Oriented Fiber Reinforced-Composites, Tribology Transactions, 37 (1), 23-32
  • Ovaert, T. C., J. P. Wu (1993) Theoretical Estimates of Asperity-Scale Stresses in Normally-Oriented Continuous Fiber-Reinforced Composites, Tribology Transactions, 36 (1), 120-126
  • Ovaert, T. C. (1993) On the Indentation of a Transversely Isotropic Half-Space with Application to Thin Solid Lubricant Films, ASME Trans., Journal of Tribology, 115 (4), 650-657
  • Ovaert, T. C., H. S. Cheng, H. H. Kantner (1992) Tribological Characteristics of Elastomeric and Elastomeric/Thermoplastic Contacts Under Conformal Sliding Conditions, Wear and Friction of Elastomers, ASTM STP 1145, 1-11
  • Ovaert, T. C., H. S. Cheng, M. C. Shen (1991) Temperature Effects on Friction and Elevated Temperature Behavior of Base Oil-Additive Combinations Under Boundary Lubricated Conditions, SAE Transactions, Journal of Fuels and Lubricants, 100 (4), 1131-1140
  • Ovaert, T. C., H. S. Cheng (1991) Counterface Topographical Effects on the Wear of Polyetheretherketone and a Polyetheretherketone-Carbon Fiber Composite, Wear, 150, 275-287
  • Ovaert, T. C., H. S. Cheng (1991) The Unlubricated Sliding Wear Behavior of Polyetheretherketone Against Smooth Mild-Steel Counterfaces, ASME Trans., Journal of Tribology, 113 (1), 150-157
  • Nivatvongs, K., H. S. Cheng, T. C. Ovaert, W. R. D. Wilson (1991) Influence of Surface Topography on Low-Speed Asperity Lubrication Breakdown and Scuffing, Wear, 143, 137-148

Profile Details

Last Updated: 9/27/2008

COS Expertise ID #296073
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