Eco-friendly bearing for tidal power generation

Author

Nakanishi, Yoichiro ; Shimazu, Keiko ; Matsumoto, Yuki ; Kai, Shen ; Oka, Yuichi ; Higaki, Hiroaki

Author_Institution

Grad. Sch. of Sci. & Technol., Kumamoto Univ., Kumamoto, Japan

fYear

2012

fDate

11-14 Nov. 2012

Firstpage

1

Lastpage

5

Abstract

An environmentally friendly and low-friction bearing for applications such as tidal power generation is proposed using biomimetic technologies. A biomimetic bearing was successfully developed using a hydrated material, polyvinyl formal (PVF), which mimics articular cartilage in a natural synovial joint. A non-Newtonian fluid, polyethylene glycol (PEG) dissolved in distilled water, was used as a lubricant, and the biomimetic bearing exhibited excellent frictional properties at start-up, at steady state, and at near zero velocity.

Keywords

tidal power stations; PEG; PVF; articular cartilage; biomimetic technologies; distilled water; ecofriendly bearing; environmentally friendly bearing; frictional properties; hydrated material; low-friction bearing; lubricant; natural synovial joint; near zero velocity; nonNewtonian fluid; polyethylene glycol; polyvinyl formal; start-up; steady state; tidal power generation; Fluids; Friction; Joints; Lubricants; Lubrication; Power generation; Bearing; Biomimetics; Friction; Lubrication; Tidal power generation;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Renewable Energy Research and Applications (ICRERA), 2012 International Conference on

Conference_Location

Nagasaki

Print_ISBN

978-1-4673-2328-4

Electronic_ISBN

978-1-4673-2329-1

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/ICRERA.2012.6477470

Filename

6477470