Experimental study of abrasion characteristics for critical sliding components for use in hydrokinetic devices

Marine Hydrokinetic Energy Site Identification and Ranking Methodology Part I: Wave Energy

“…Because many of the rivers feeding into Cook Inlet are glacial, the impact of glacial silt on bearing components is a concern for tidal projects there. Recent research at the University of Alaska Anchorage indicates that advanced bearing and seal technologies could help to reduce this risk (Bromaghin et al 2014). This and other challenges of the Alaskan environment will need further investigation, but Cook Inlet is a world-class tidal energy site worthy of continued exploration.…”

Impact of sediments on wear performance of critical sliding components of hydrokinetic devices

“…For the present study, a custom test apparatus designed and built in the previous study [1] was used to conduct the tests. The apparatus consisted of a closed flume that included two test stations, inlet and outlet diffusers, water reservoir, paddle flow meter, and a custom built heat exchanger.…”

“…Since the parasitic energy losses due to bearing friction can have significant effect on the energy extraction efficiency of a hydrokinetic device, it is important to determine the Coefficient Of Friction (COF) of candidate bearings in present study. A method developed in [1] was adopted here, which translated the power data collected at the end of each test to COF. Following the methodology, the COF were estimated by balancing power in the system for each bearing type, which revealed the following equation:…”

“…Polymers have a low manufacturing cost, are lightweight and self-lubricant, and have a higher resistivity to wear and corrosion than most metals. In addition, ceramic coated bearings are gaining some interest for application in hydrokinetic devices [1]. Most investigations on the sliding friction and wear behavior of polymer bearings have been under dry friction with a few under pure water immersion and fewer still in sea water [17][18][19][20].…”

“…© 2015. This manuscript version is made available under the Elsevier user license http://www.elsevier.com/open-access/userlicense/1.0/ In previous study [1], we investigated the wear characteristics of three types of polymer based bearings and one set of ceramic coated bearings submerged in clean fresh water. Each bearing type was tested for 60 hours.…”