Mechanical bearings and gears, such as those found in electric vehicles and wind turbines, are usually supplied with lubricants to reduce friction and wear. However, these components can be subject to electrical voltages that impair the functioning of the lubricants to such an extent that damage occurs to the tribological contacts.
In the joint project "Lube.Life", researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Mechanics of Materials IWM have developed a virtual lubricant laboratory that can be used to predict the effects of electric fields on the stability of lubricants. This enables customized formulations of new lubricants.
However, they can also physically calculate numerous other parameters of the lubricant, such as its viscosity, thermal conductivity and its chemical reactivity with surfaces. Future areas of application are diverse: in addition to monitoring wind turbines, industrial and production facilities as well as power plants could be expanded with a real-time capable decentralized analysis and forecasting system for lubricants.
