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Lubricants
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Lubrication and Tribology Challenges in Renewable Energy and High-Efficiency Power-Generation...
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Lubrication and Tribology Challenges in Renewable Energy and High-Efficiency Power-Generation Systems

A special issue of Lubricants (ISSN 2075-4442).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 September 2026 | Viewed by 1012

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Yuechang Wang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Mechanical Engineering and Automation, Harbin Institute of Technology (Shenzhen), Shenzhen 518055, China
Interests: friction, lubrication and wear in seals and bearings
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Fan Zhang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Engineering Research Center of Heavy Machinery Ministry of Education, Taiyuan University of Science and Technology, Taiyuan 030024, China
Interests: sliding bearings for renewable energy systems and high-efficiency power generation equipment and their friction, wear and lubrication
Prof. Dr. Ying Liu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
State Key Laboratory of Tribology in Advanced Equipment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
Interests: mechanical design and theory; lubrication; sealing

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue aims to gather high-quality research focused on the lubrication and tribological challenges encountered in renewable energy systems and high-efficiency power generation equipment. Particular attention is given to lubricated interfaces that operate under high loads, exhibit strong thermal–mechanical coupling, operate in transient or off-design conditions, or are subject to harsh environmental influences. Topics of interest include lubrication behavior, thermal distortion, material degradation, and failure mechanisms in critical components such as steam turbine bearings, wind turbine gearboxes, hydraulic pumps, compressors, and marine energy devices. Modeling and simulation studies are welcome, including TEHD/EHL analyses, multiphysics coupling, surface texturing, and advanced numerical methods. Experimental investigations involving novel lubricants, additives, functional coatings, wear characterization, and condition monitoring techniques are also encouraged. Contributions that integrate modeling with validation, or that demonstrate performance improvement strategies for real equipment, are particularly valued. Overall, this Special Issue seeks to advance the understanding of tribological behavior in sustainable energy systems and to support the development of more efficient, reliable, and environmentally friendly power-generation technologies.

Dr. Yuechang Wang
Dr. Fan Zhang
Prof. Dr. Ying Liu
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Lubricants is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • renewable energy tribology
  • thermo-elasto-hydrodynamic lubrication (TEHD)
  • high-load bearing systems
  • transient operating conditions
  • lubricant degradation and failure mechanisms
  • condition monitoring and reliability
  • green power generation equipment

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

13 pages, 1707 KB  
Article
Numerical and Experimental Investigation of Fretting Wear in Connecting Rod Big-End Bearings of Nuclear Emergency Diesel Generators
by Shuai Zu, Pingsheng Hu, Xi Yang, Yang Li, Yinhui Che, Jianghong Zhang, Xiaohu Yang and Yi Cui
Lubricants 2026, 14(4), 151; https://doi.org/10.3390/lubricants14040151 - 31 Mar 2026
Viewed by 569
Abstract
The operational reliability of Emergency Diesel Generators (EDGs) is paramount for the safety of nuclear power plants. This study investigates the fretting wear mechanism on the non-working back-face of connecting rod big-end bearings—a critical failure mode that can lead to catastrophic engine damage. [...] Read more.
The operational reliability of Emergency Diesel Generators (EDGs) is paramount for the safety of nuclear power plants. This study investigates the fretting wear mechanism on the non-working back-face of connecting rod big-end bearings—a critical failure mode that can lead to catastrophic engine damage. A synergistic approach was employed, integrating theoretical pressure calculations, on-site strain measurement experiments, and high-fidelity non-linear finite element analysis (FEA). The results demonstrate that while the theoretical design back-face pressure ranges from 8.1 to 10.1 MPa, the actual pressure is highly sensitive to bolt preload. A 16.2% attenuation in preload (from 550 kN to 461 kN), common during maintenance cycles, causes the interfacial pressure to drop to 6.9 MPa, falling below the recommended safety threshold of 7 MPa required to inhibit fretting. Furthermore, comparative experiments reveal that used bearings exhibit significantly lower and less uniform radial pressure retention compared to new bearings, even when physical dimensions appear compliant. Dynamic FEA indicates that peak inertial loads induce an out-of-roundness (DOR) of 0.295 mm, triggering a transition from a “partial slip” to a “macro-slip” regime at the interface. The findings confirm that the coupling of preload attenuation and loss of bearing elasticity drives the fretting process, providing a theoretical basis for optimized maintenance and selective assembly strategies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Lubrication and Tribology Challenges in Renewable Energy and High-Efficiency Power-Generation Systems)
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