Based at the Angoulême IUT in research dedicated premises, 7 IUT research lecturers and six post-graduates make up the Solids Mechanics Laboratory (LMS) "Structures & Interfaces" team at the University of Poitiers (UMR CNRS). They study lubricated links and the behaviour of solids in hard contact mechanisms. More specifically, the team investigates problems inherent to heat motor links (connecting rods - crankshaft, crankshaft - motor …) as well as contact problems, elastohydrodynamic (EHD) contacts and wear problems. Specific experimental mechanisms and software are used to model these situations.

These research activities have borne fruit in the form of contracts signed with major industrial groups and, academically, as doctorate theses (11 presented) and a scientific output published in national and international reviews.