Tribological behavior of ceramic-alloy bearing contacts in molten salt lubrication for concentrating solar power

Xin He, Rick Wang, Dino Sulejmanovic, Kevin R. Robb, James R. Keiser, Keith Oldinski, Jun Qu

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

7 Scopus citations

Abstract

Molten salts are considered as candidate heat transfer fluids and thermal energy storage media for next generation concentrating solar power (CSP). A molten salt circulates inside the piping and heat exchanger and also functions as a lubricant for the sleeve bearings of the CSP pump. Wear- and corrosion-resistant high-temperature bearing materials are critical for the pump efficiency and durability. This study evaluated the tribological performance of candidate bearing materials in lubrication of a molten chloride salt mixture (20% NaCl + 40% MgCl2 + 40% KCl) at 750 °C in an inert argon gas (a simulative CSP pump environment). Six ceramic-alloy pairs were tested, zirconia and silicon nitride against Haynes 244, Hastelloy C276, and Tribaloy T900 alloy, and ranked by the friction coefficient and wear loss. Characterization of worn surfaces suggested the wear mechanism as a combination of abrasion, adhesion, and tribocorrosion. Results from this study provide fundamental insight for the development and selection of bearing materials for molten salt powered CSP pumps.

Original languageEnglish
Article number111065
JournalSolar Energy Materials and Solar Cells
Volume225
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 15 2021

Funding

Note : This manuscript has been authored by UT-Battelle, LLC, under contract DE-AC05-00OR22725 with the US Department of Energy (DOE). The US government retains and the publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the US government retains a nonexclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, worldwide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this manuscript, or allow others to do so, for US government purposes. DOE will provide public access to these results of federally sponsored research in accordance with the DOE Public Access Plan (http://energy.gov/downloads/doe-public-access-plan). Authors thank D. Barth from HTSD for technical discussion and K. Cooley, D. Loposser, D. Wilson, A. Willoughby, J. Massengale, and E. Kappes from ORNL for technical support to the molten salt test setup and equipment repairs. This research was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) under Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) Agreement Number 34328 and under contract DE-AC05-00OR22725 with Oak Ridge National Laboratory, managed by UT-Battelle, LLC. Authors thank D. Barth from HTSD for technical discussion and K. Cooley, D. Loposser, D. Wilson, A. Willoughby, J. Massengale, and E. Kappes from ORNL for technical support to the molten salt test setup and equipment repairs. This research was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) under Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) Agreement Number 34328 and under contract DE-AC05-00OR22725 with Oak Ridge National Laboratory, managed by UT-Battelle, LLC.

Keywords

  • Concentrating solar power
  • Lubrication
  • Molten salt
  • Sleeve bearing
  • Wear

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Tribological behavior of ceramic-alloy bearing contacts in molten salt lubrication for concentrating solar power'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this