Thierry A. Blanchet Associate Professor 4024 Jonsson Engineering Center Tel: (518) 276-8697; Fax: (518) 276-2623; E-Mail: blanct@rpi.edu [ MANE || Faculty ]

Ph.D. Dartmouth College, Thayer School of Engineering (1992)
M.S. Dartmouth College, Thayer School of Engineering (1988)
B.S. University of Vermont, Mechanical Engineering (1986)

T.A. Blanchet has been a faculty member at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute since 1993. He is currently an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering, with research focusing in the area of Tribology. Prior to joining the Rensselaer faculty, Blanchet's research activities included residences at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Laboratory for Boundary Layer Analysis, NASA Lewis Research Center Surface Science Branch, Dow Chemical Central Research Organic Chemicals and Polymers Laboratory, and the Hercules Corporation's Champlain Cable subsidiary. He is the recipient of the Al Sonntag Award (1993 and 1998) and the Walter D. Hodson Award (1997) from the Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers, as well as the Young Investigator Award from the National Science Foundation. He is an Associate Editor of STLE's Tribology Transactions journal, has been an active member of STLE's Solid Lubricants Technical Committee serving as its Chair 1999-2000, and in 2000 was appointed to STLE's Awards Committee. Blanchet is also active in ASME as a representative on the ASME/STLE International Joint Tribology Conference planning committee, serving as its Vice-Chair for the 2003 conference, as well as a member of ASME's Research Committee on Tribology. In 2002 he was the recipient of ASME's Burt L. Newkirk Award.

Research Interests

Oxidation, fluid absorption, and wear behavior of radiation-sterilized/processed polyethylene hip and knee joint replacement components; Plasma-sprayed wear-resistant coatings; Solid lubrication; High temperature lubrication; Tribology of composite materials; Vapor phase lubrication; Wear of lead screws and mechanical components.

Selected Recent Publications (of ~50)

"Some Recent Advances and Current Challenges in Joint Replacement Tribology and UHMWPE Bearing Surfaces" Blanchet, T.A. Tribology of Mechanical Systems: A Guide to Present and Future Challenges, S. Jahanmir, K. Dohda, J. Vizintin and M. Kalin, eds., ASME Press, New York, *accepted for publication.

"Grease-lubricated Wear of Aluminum Bronze for Jackscrew Application". T.A. Blanchet, S.J. Shaffer, A.C. Christiaen and J.M. Kolly. Wear. *accepted for publication.

"Effect of Fluid Absorption on the Wear Resistance of UHMWPE Orthopaedic Bearing Surfaces". J.Q. Yao, T.A. Blanchet, D.J. Murphy and M.P. Laurent. Wear. *accepted for publication.

"High Velocity Oxyfuel Deposition for Low Surface Roughness PS304 Self-Lubricating Composite Coatings". J.H. Kim, T.A. Blanchet, and S.J. Calabrese. Wear. *submitted for publication.

"Effect of Accelerated Aging Conditions on Resultant Depth-Dependent Oxidation and Wear Resistance of UHMWPE Joint Replacement Bearing Materials". K.S. Toohey, T.A. Blanchet and D.D. Heckelman. Wear. *submitted for publication.

"Thrust-Washer Evaluation of Self-Lubricating PS304 Composite Coatings in High Temperature Sliding Contact". T.A. Blanchet, J.H. Kim, S.J. Calabrese and C. DellaCorte. Tribology Transactions. 45 (2002) 491-498.

"Effect of Filler Particle Size and Volume Fraction on the Wear of PTFE Filled with Irradiated FEP". B. Menzel and T.A. Blanchet. Lubrication Engineering. 58, 9 (2002) 29-35.

"Geometry Effects in High Temperature Vapor Phase Lubrication using Hydrocarbon Gases". J.E. Gardner, W.G. Sawyer and T.A. Blanchet. Lubrication Science. 14 (2002) 131-145.

"Serum Lubricant Absorption by UHMWPE Orthopaedic Bearing Implants". T.A. Blanchet, S.L. Peterson, and K.D. Rosenberg. ASME Journal of Tribology. 124 (2002) 1-4.

"Enhanced Wear Resistance of Gamma-Irradiated PTFE and FEP Polymers and the Effect of Post-Irradiation Environmental Handling". T.A. Blanchet and B. Menzel, 13th International Colloquium Tribology - Lubricants, Materials, and Lubrication Engineering. W.J. Bartz, ed. Technische Akademie Esslingen. Ostfildern, Germany. (2002) 2341-2348.

"Numerical Oxidation Model for Gamma Radiation-Sterilized UHMWPE: Consideration of Dose-Depth Profile". T.A. Blanchet and B.R. Burroughs. Journal of Biomedical Materials Research -Applied Biomaterials. 58 (2001) 684-693.

"Differential Application of Wear Models to Fractional Thin Films". T.A. Blanchet and W.G. Sawyer. Wear. 251 (2001) 1003-1008.

"Vapor-Phase Lubrication in Combined Rolling and Sliding Contacts: Modeling and Experimentation". Sawyer, W.G. and Blanchet, T.A. ASME Journal of Tribology. 123 (2001) 572-581.

"Factors Affecting the Wear of Irradiated UHMWPE". Burroughs, B.R. and Blanchet, T.A. Tribology Transactions. 44 (2001) 215-223.

"Numerical Oxidation Model of Irradiated UHMWPE with Dose-Depth Profile". Burroughs, B.R. and Blanchet, T.A. Proceedings of the Orthopaedic Research Society 47th Annual Meeting. (2001) 1022.

"Oxidation Model of UHMWPE Receiving Insufficient Post-Irradiation Annealing". Burroughs, B.R. and Blanchet, T.A. Proceedings of the Society for Biomaterials 27th Annual Meeting. (2001) 588.

"Wear of Irradiated PTFE in Serum-Lubricated Sliding Contact". Blanchet, T.A., Burroughs, B.R. and Peng, Y.L . Proceedings of the Society for Biomaterials 27th Annual Meeting. (2001) 584.