| NSF Org: |
TI Translational Impacts |
| Recipient: |
|
| Initial Amendment Date: | June 20, 2016 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | June 20, 2016 |
| Award Number: | 1622136 |
| Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Debasis Majumdar
dmajumda@nsf.gov (703)292-4709 TI Translational Impacts TIP Directorate for Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships |
| Start Date: | July 1, 2016 |
| End Date: | June 30, 2017 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $225,000.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $225,000.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
|
| History of Investigator: |
|
| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
700 W RESEARCH CENTER BLVD STE 1000 FAYETTEVILLE AR US 72701-7499 (479)263-6922 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
|
| Primary Place of Performance: |
700 W Research Center Blvd Fayetteville AR US 72701-7175 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
|
| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
|
| Parent UEI: |
|
| NSF Program(s): | SBIR Phase I |
| Primary Program Source: |
|
| Program Reference Code(s): |
|
| Program Element Code(s): |
|
| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.084 |
ABSTRACT
This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project is a comprehensive investigation into the feasibility of using a polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) nanoparticle composite coating as a lubricant in ball bearings for washdown duty electric motors. The successful transition from traditional lubricants to solid lubricants in manufacturing has tremendous implications for the US economy and the environment. Currently, annual lubrication-related maintenance costs are as high as $1 trillion, and consumption of petroleum-based lubricants is estimated to reach 43.78 million metric tons by the end of 2016. The effective implementation of this technology will reduce maintenance costs and downtime by eliminating premature bearing failure. This project will serve as a proof point for the adoption of nano-coating technologies for reducing friction and wear in manufacturing equipment. It will also reduce barriers to entry for these coatings in industries dominated by outdated lubrication practices. The total applicable market size for washdown duty electric motors is estimated to be $50 million, and a substantial near-term revenue opportunity for the proposed technology in this sector will be the focus of this effort. This beachhead opportunity serves as an industry validation point for the proposed technology and an entry point to other industrial and manufacturing applications.
The intellectual merit of this project is based on improving the mechanical properties and adhesion of PTFE coatings through the use of an adhesive polymer basecoat and a nanoparticle filler within a PTFE topcoat. This reduces friction and increases wear-life, allowing PTFE coatings to be used in applications from which they have historically been precluded due to high wear and delamination. Preliminary results show that the proposed coating exhibits a two thousand-fold improvement in wear-life over virgin PTFE. The goal of the proposed research and development work is the optimization of the coating chemical composition and deposition parameters to maximize the performance in rolling element applications. These parameters play a critical role in the wear, vibration, and friction that occurs in coated bearings. Benchtop tribological tests will be performed to measure these properties under accelerated wear testing conditions and provide feedback during the optimization process. A thorough understanding of the process-structure-property relationship of the proposed coating will lead to new scientific knowledge which will be disseminated through applicable journals and trade publications. The successful completion of the proposed work will result in PTFE-lubricated ball bearings with a wear-life which is more than 50% improved as compared to grease-lubricated bearings.
PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
It is estimated that losses resulting from equipment downtime and maintenance due to poor lubrication across all industries in the US are as high as 6% of the GDP, a total of $1.1 trillion for 2016. Recognizing the impact of friction, lubrication, and wear on the US economy, Congress has passed a resolution encouraging federal agencies to implement and develop programs and projects related to this field. A key solution to lubrication related failure in machine components is the use of low friction coatings. Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), specifically, has drawn a great deal of interest because of its self-lubricating properties, hydrophobicity, and high temperature and chemical resistance. However, the use of PTFE is limited due to its high wear rate and poor adhesion to substrates. Enabled by an adhesive polymer basecoat and a nanoparticle filler within the PTFE matrix, SurfTec has developed a PTFE composite coating with a wear life over 3 orders of magnitude greater than virgin PTFE while preserving its desirable properties and improving its adhesion to substrates.
SurfTec is a privately held company formed in 2015 to commercialize the patent-pending low-friction coating technology pioneered by the company founders, Dr. Samuel Beckford, CEO, and Dr. Min Zou, CTO. The vision of SurfTec is to pioneer the development of innovative material surfaces based on nanotechnology. The team’s background in Surface Engineering, Materials Science, Tribology, and Nanomechanics and involvement in academic research is a significant advantage for continuous innovation. SurfTec envisions its coating technology selling globally and becoming the standard lubricant used in bearings for many applications.
Significant alterations to the deposition process, along with improvements in tribological performance, have been achieved with SurfTec’s coating as a result of the tasks performed during NSF SBIR Phase I. To begin with, the initial approach produced a very thin film, ~1um. The adhesive base coat served as a continuous organic adhesive layer that anchored PTFE to steel, and facilitated the formation of a transfer film on the bearing counterface. This composition produced a wear resistant film with exceptional qualities, including a very low dynamic coefficient of friction identical to pure PTFE, but with three orders of magnitude increase in performance lifetime. During Phase I the initial deposition time was reduced from 24 hours to 5 minutes using an accelerated deposition approach. Despite the reduction in deposition time and excellent performance of these first-generation coatings, the end use was limited by the maximum thickness achievable of approximately 2 um. To solve these problems, generation two utilized a modified deposition method, and thickness of 100 um in under 5 minutes were achieved. Generation three builds on the success of generation two, and achieves thickness of greater than 300 um.
The SurfTec team has been committed to the lean startup methodology and has spent considerable time outside of lab working on the customer discovery process. This has led to a greater understanding of the bearing industry as well as unveiled other promising applications for SurfTec coatings. We found that Generation 1, 2, and 3 are each effective at solving different issues in industry. The polydopamine deposition process in Generation 1 can be used to solve adhesion issues in molded PTFE components. Generation 2 is effective in producing self-standing solid lubricant coatings for dry lubricated bearings and mechanical systems in general. Finally, Generation 3 was developed for the needs of the metal-polymer bearing industry.
Last Modified: 09/28/2017
Modified by: Samuel Beckford
Please report errors in award information by writing to: awardsearch@nsf.gov.
