Resumen de Improving wear performance of wind turbine gearboxes using ionic liquids as additives of lubricants

P. Iglesias, Kelly B. McNabb

• Wind resources are a proven source of clean, affordable and sustainable energy. Wind energy does not produce harmful pollution gases such carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide, or other gases that have contributed to global warming. The wind energy industry has seen rapid growth within the last decade; however the cost of maintaining the turbines is a major drawback. Wind turbine gearboxes present one of the more challenging current practical tribological problems. Contact failures in gear and bearing components have been the source of costly repairs and downtime of the turbine’s drivetrain and actuator. A potential solution to reduce contact failures in wind turbines and increase their lifespan, is the use of ionic liquids (IL) as lubricant or additives of lubricants. ILs have the ability to form stable ordered layers on the contact area between the materials, reducing friction and wear. In this work, the wear behavior of trihexyltetradecylphosphonium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl) ...