Optimal tribology

In order to guarantee that the moving machine components such as bearings or gears function, the tribology must be optimal. Otherwise, components can fail and the function will be limited.

“Bearings and gearboxes of wind turbines often show high failure rates, since tribology was neglected in the beginning. Nowadays, bearings and gears show better performance as research and industry have worked on optimizations. However, it would have been more effective to address the possible tribological problems from the start,” Fabian Schwack says.

“There is little literature on tribology and ocean wave energy. Wave energy converters are mainly tested on functionality, survivability and efficiency. However, functionality, survivability and efficiency are long-term affected by tribology. Not all companies are currently aware that salty environments, oscillating movements and alternating loads are very critical conditions for the tribological components” he says, adding:

“Since the technology is still young, we can actively influence its development and prevent problems before they occur. The basic idea is to learn from the mistakes of wind energy.”