Abstract
This study presents tribological properties of various graphite materials of vanes for rotary vane expanders. A test device was developed in order to measure the wear and power dissipation under conditions similar to a real operation of a vane expander. Subsequently, the friction coefficients of vanes for a rotary vane expander were evaluated. Parameters of the test device are based on the vane expander used for an experimental organic Rankine cycle unit. Four materials in total were tested: graphite, antimony-impregnated graphite, 2D carbon fibre-reinforced graphite, and 2.5D carbon fibre-reinforced graphite. Wear tests were performed under dry sliding conditions at the temperature of 115 °C and at 3030 rpm for the total time of about 400 hours. The method of evaluating the wear involved measuring the vane weight loss in relation to the duration of the load. Furthermore, specific wear coefficients were established in order to evaluate the tribological properties of the tested materials. Measurements have shown that carbon fibre materials are the most advantageous in terms of wear. The best friction properties were obtained for the pure graphite.
Highlights
Applications of organic Rankine cycle (ORC) systems are extending into smaller units, even into domesticsized ones
The largest, and still very low, friction coefficient was obtained for the irregular carbon fibre-reinforced graphite – 2.5D CFC
This paper deals with two main topics: friction losses and wear of vanes for rotary vane expanders for an ORC unit
Summary
Applications of organic Rankine cycle (ORC) systems are extending into smaller units, even into domesticsized ones. Vane expanders are used in our experimental development of micro-ORC systems [2]. Vanes are the important components of rotary vane expanders. Only the pin-on-disc wear test is performed. [4,5,6,7] working conditions of vanes in the expander within the ORC may differ considerably from the pin-on disc conditions. A test device simulating the expander for determining the wear and friction behaviour of different types of materials was built. This device, as described later, allows performing multiple tests in order to assess the suitability of materials for vanes
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