Application and impact of tribology in energy-an overview

¹ Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering, Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria
² Department of Mechanical Engineering Science, University of Johannesburg, 2092, South Africa
³ Department of Physics. Bowen University, Iwo. Nigeria

^* Corresponding Author: kayodejf@abuad.edu.ng

Abstract

The use and effects of tribology in the field of energy are the subjects of this term paper. By calculating how energy use, economic output, and pollutants are all impacted by friction and wear, it discusses how tribology can be used to reduce the amount of unnecessary energy used by mechanisms, which is important in reducing the number of emissions produced by different industries. In turn, this enables industries including transportation, energy, mining, and paper production to reduce their overall energy use and emissions. Additionally, since the effect of friction cannot be directly estimated in the mining industry since it is less developed, we analyze the effect of wear in the mining industry by computing the friction loss as a component of the overall energy consumption looking at the downtime in materials, the overall number of mines in the world, the quantity of energy used the mining and the equipment’s life expectancy. This report also discusses current developments in novel materials, lubricants, and design modifications that have the potential to cut energy losses by 18–40%, primarily due to friction and wear. Up to 8.7% of the world’s total energy use and 1.4% of GDP might be saved (GNP).