PTFE Coating Wear of Air Foil Bearings for Fuel Cell Applications

欧米茄点是一个工程咨询公司，专门从事涡轮机械特定的空气箔轴承（AFB）。我们的技术应用于电动汽车的氢燃料电池系统。涡轮机械可以在燃料电池系统中使用，以提高效率，提供无油运行，几乎无摩擦，噪音水平低。虽然AFB系统几乎可以无摩擦运行，但在轴承和轴之间接触的启停周期中，AFB系统存在问题。这种接触发生在低速时，会导致摩擦磨损，从而削弱整个系统。到目前为止，Omega Dot已经可以将afb的启停周期验证到5000次，但对于电动汽车市场和汽车行业的生产来说，验证afb的启停周期必须达到25万次。该项目将详细分析Omega Dot AFB中使用的聚四氟乙烯涂层在发生表面损坏时的情况，以及对材料层对整个系统的影响程度。我们与NPL和ASTUTE合作来回答这个问题。我们必须提供轴承循环寿命的实际证据，因为市场已经强调了这一点的重要性。Omega Dot和他们的A4i合作伙伴希望汇集他们的专业知识和设施来解决这个应用程序中描述的挑战，Omega Dot没有NPL和ASTUTE就无法解决。该项目的结果可能会确定当前AFB配置中的优势和劣势，以及如何对其进行改进以用于生产。国家物理实验室和ASTUTE将帮助Omega Dot解释研究结果。该项目的成果将通过生命周期验证推动Omega Dot的afb商业化，并允许Omega Dot投资于他们的生产和制造能力。这将有助于获得更大的客户订单，这将给我们带来持续的经济增长，并促进氢燃料电池系统供应链。

Omega Dot is an engineering consultancy specialising in turbomachinery specific to air foil bearings (AFB). An application of our technology is within the hydrogen fuel cell system for electric vehicles (EVs). Turbomachinery can be used within the fuel cell system to boost efficiency, offer an oil-free operation that runs near frictionless and has low noise levels. Although it can run near frictionless, the AFB system has issues during start-stop cycles where there is contact between the bearing and the shaft. This contact occurs at low speeds and causes frictional wear which weakens the overall system. To date, Omega Dot can validate their AFBs to 5,000 start-stop cycles but for production within the EV market and automotive industry, it is imperative to validate them to 250,000 start-stop cycles.This project will detail the analysis of the PTFE coating used in Omega Dot's AFB for surface distress for when this occurs and how deep the impact on a material level is to the overall system. We have partnered with NPL and ASTUTE to answer this question. It is imperative to provide practical evidence of our bearings' cyclic life as the market has emphasised this importance.Omega Dot and their A4i partners are hoping to bring together their expertise and facilities to tackle the challenge described in this application which Omega Dot is not able to solve without NPL and ASTUTE. The results from this project may identify strengths and weaknesses within the current AFB configurations and how they can be improved for production. NPL and ASTUTE will help Omega Dot to interpret the results from the studies. The outcomes from this project will push Omega Dot into commercialisation of their AFBs through lifecycle validation and allow Omega Dot to invest in their production and manufacturing capabilities. This will help to secure larger client orders which will give us sustained economic growth and boost the hydrogen fuel cell system supply chain.