SKF Tribological Black Oxide Coatings for Improved Energy Efficiency of Railway Wheel-End Bearings

With a growing global railway market that needs to reduce its energy consumption and CO2 emissions, railway wheel-end bearing units are being optimized to further reduce power losses without compromising reliability. One of the solutions being evaluated is the selection of an optimum surface engineering process. Results demonstrate that SKF Tribological Black Oxide can significatively reduce the bearing torque at both low and intermediate speeds, a fact that is particularly relevant to intercity trains.