Sustainable energy such as wind turbine is known as a green technology that minimize the carbon emission into environment. However, unwanted friction and wear in journal bearing of a wind turbine’s gearbox leads to reduction of power efficiency and increase the reliance onto fossil-fuel powered electricity. Lubricating oils are used in journal bearing to provide the hydrodynamic lubrication film. However, commercially available lubricants are petroleum-based, which are non-replenishable and toxic. Thus, the bio-degradable vegetable oil, high oleic palm oil-based methyl ester (high oleic POME) was used as a base oil synthesized with graphene nanoplatelets (GNP), multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) and nanostructured graphite (NSG), respectively, to enhance the friction and wear reduction. The tribological performance of each type of bio-based graphene-oil nanofluid was studied using pin-on-ring tribo-tester. It is concluded that NSG in high oleic POME shows 52.03% friction coefficient reduction and 59.27% pin specimen weight loss reduction. With this significant friction and wear reduction, power efficiency of wind turbine will be improved significantly. Thus, the reliance of society depending on fossil-fuel powered electricity can be reduced and minimize the carbon emission into the environment.
With the aim of achieving more effective friction and wear reduction in sliding bearing applications, surface-modified graphene, which exhibits better dispersion stability than non-modified graphene, was synthesized and applied in this study using various graphene allotropes, including graphene nanoplatelets (GNP), multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) and nanostructured graphite (NSG). Friction and wear tests of each type of graphene allotrope under modified and non-modified conditions were studied using a pin-on-ring tribo tester. In addition, the dynamic viscosity of each synthesized nanofluid sample was measured using a falling-ball viscometer. A series of modified graphene-oil nanofluids and non-modified graphene-oil nanofluids were prepared and heated before their friction and wear performance was investigated at room temperature. Friction and wear behavior, as well as the dynamic viscosity of the heated nanofluids vary insignificantly when compared to those of the non-heated nanofluids. The results showed that the best friction and wear reduction was achieved by modified GNP with friction and wear reduction of 60.5% and 99.4%, respectively.
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