SBIR Phase I: Low friction and high durability PTFE nanoparticle composite coating for bearings

这个小企业创新研究第一阶段项目是对聚四氟乙烯（PTFE）纳米颗粒复合涂层作为冲洗式电动机滚珠轴承润滑剂的可行性进行全面调查。在制造业中，从传统润滑剂到固体润滑剂的成功过渡对美国经济和环境有着巨大的影响。目前，每年与润滑油相关的维护成本高达1万亿美元，到2016年底，石油基润滑油的消费量预计将达到4378万吨。该技术的有效实施将通过消除轴承过早失效来降低维护成本和停机时间。该项目将成为采用纳米涂层技术减少制造设备摩擦和磨损的一个证明。它还将减少这些涂料在过时润滑实践占主导地位的行业中的进入壁垒。冲洗式电动机的总适用市场规模估计为5000万美元，该领域拟议技术的大量近期收入机会将是这项工作的重点。这个滩头阵地的机会可以作为拟议技术的行业验证点和其他工业和制造业应用的切入点。该项目的知识价值是通过在聚四氟乙烯面漆中使用粘合剂聚合物底漆和纳米颗粒填料来改善聚四氟乙烯涂层的机械性能和附着力。这减少了摩擦，增加了磨损寿命，使PTFE涂层可以用于历史上由于高磨损和分层而被排除在外的应用中。初步结果表明，该涂层的磨损寿命比原始PTFE提高了2000倍。提出的研究和开发工作的目标是优化涂层的化学成分和沉积参数，以最大限度地提高轧制元件的应用性能。这些参数在涂层轴承的磨损、振动和摩擦中起着至关重要的作用。将进行台式摩擦学测试，以在加速磨损测试条件下测量这些性能，并在优化过程中提供反馈。对所建议涂层的工艺-结构-性能关系的透彻理解将导致新的科学知识，这些知识将通过适用的期刊和贸易出版物传播。这项工作的成功完成将使ptfe润滑的滚珠轴承的磨损寿命比油脂润滑的轴承提高50%以上。

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project is a comprehensive investigation into the feasibility of using a polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) nanoparticle composite coating as a lubricant in ball bearings for washdown duty electric motors. The successful transition from traditional lubricants to solid lubricants in manufacturing has tremendous implications for the US economy and the environment. Currently, annual lubrication-related maintenance costs are as high as $1 trillion, and consumption of petroleum-based lubricants is estimated to reach 43.78 million metric tons by the end of 2016. The effective implementation of this technology will reduce maintenance costs and downtime by eliminating premature bearing failure. This project will serve as a proof point for the adoption of nano-coating technologies for reducing friction and wear in manufacturing equipment. It will also reduce barriers to entry for these coatings in industries dominated by outdated lubrication practices. The total applicable market size for washdown duty electric motors is estimated to be $50 million, and a substantial near-term revenue opportunity for the proposed technology in this sector will be the focus of this effort. This beachhead opportunity serves as an industry validation point for the proposed technology and an entry point to other industrial and manufacturing applications.The intellectual merit of this project is based on improving the mechanical properties and adhesion of PTFE coatings through the use of an adhesive polymer basecoat and a nanoparticle filler within a PTFE topcoat. This reduces friction and increases wear-life, allowing PTFE coatings to be used in applications from which they have historically been precluded due to high wear and delamination. Preliminary results show that the proposed coating exhibits a two thousand-fold improvement in wear-life over virgin PTFE. The goal of the proposed research and development work is the optimization of the coating chemical composition and deposition parameters to maximize the performance in rolling element applications. These parameters play a critical role in the wear, vibration, and friction that occurs in coated bearings. Benchtop tribological tests will be performed to measure these properties under accelerated wear testing conditions and provide feedback during the optimization process. A thorough understanding of the process-structure-property relationship of the proposed coating will lead to new scientific knowledge which will be disseminated through applicable journals and trade publications. The successful completion of the proposed work will result in PTFE-lubricated ball bearings with a wear-life which is more than 50% improved as compared to grease-lubricated bearings.