Wear-resistant and anticorrosion mechanism for transmission friction pairs in marine environment

The friction pair coatings are highly susceptible to failure in marine corrosive environments. To enhance their service performance, this study focuses on the friction pairs in the main shaft transmission of offshore wind turbines and investigates the wear and corrosion resistance of different surface treatment processes. A wear theory model is developed based on dynamic changes in the contact area to predict wear under dry friction and corrosive conditions. The results indicate that the Interzinc B coating exhibits the best overall performance in terms of friction, wear, and corrosion resistance. Rough and high-hardness surfaces increase the friction coefficient, while Zn powder and ZnO adhesive not only produce less abrasive debris but also form a micro-nano particle self-lubricating mechanism, reducing surface wear. Compared with the traditional zinc spraying process, the friction coefficient can be increased by 28.4%, while the wear amount is reduced by 76.2%. The release of Zn²⁺ and the oxidation reaction mechanism enhanced the self-healing ability of the passive film, improving anti-corrosion. The maximum error between the finite element analysis of coating wear and the test results is only 6.26%, which verifies the accuracy of the wear theory model and provides guidance for the precise design of wind turbine transmission friction pairs.