The Potential of Applied Tribology
At the Lubmat Conference in Bilbao, Spain, in June, Professor Kenneth Holmberg, of VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, provided a compelling look at the energy savings possible by judicious application of tribology principles. Continuing the theme pioneered by H. Peter Jost back in 1966, Holmberg outlined how applied tribology can drastically cut energy use in transportation, industrial and residential applications.
Holmberg explained that 15 to 25 percent of the energy consumed worldwide is used just to overcome friction, amounting to 100 teraJoules per year. In addition, 7 trillion tons of carbon dioxide emissions originate from work done to overcome friction.
He said that about 30 percent of the fuel energy used in vehicles is lost to friction, and he claimed that applying such technologies as advanced coatings, boundary lubrication, low-viscosity lubricants and nanoadditives could potentially cut these losses by 18 percent in just 5 years. He added that friction losses in electric cars are about one-half of those in cars powered by internal combustion engines.
In industrial applications, Holmberg pointed out that about 20 percent of the energy is used to overcome friction. Implementing new tribological solutions could potentially cut energy consumption by 11 percent in 5 to 10 years, he said.
Holmberg even addressed residential applications, estimating that about 10 percent of the energy used in a typical home is lost to friction. New tribological solutions could potentially save 11 percent in 5 to 10 years, he said.
We at LubesnGreases EMEA have been writing about many of these advances for years. You can depend on us to keep abreast of the latest developments to help our readers stay ahead of the curve.