Air Cycle Machine Low Friction, Medium Temperature, Foil Bearing Coating

In this proposed SBIR program, IBC Materials & Technologies, in conjunction with our industry partner Mechanical Solutions, Inc. (MSI) and Texas A&M University, will leverage our knowledge and experience in the domain of industrial metallic coatings to develop a metallurgical coating solution for the Air Foil Bearing. IBC has deep expertise in a variety of industrial coating processes including multiple deposition and diffusion treatments to address problems, like wear, corrosion, friction, electrical insulation, etc. Applying appropriate metallurgical coating to the foils can result in Air Foil Bearings which have Wear resistance and Durability, Low Start/Stop torque, Low friction through a wide range of temperatures up to 1400oF, no hazardous byproducts. Under IBCs Internal Research & Development (IR&D) efforts a multi-layer coating has been engineered that has excellent wear resistance and a lubricious surface layer that can withstand the high temperature spikes. In addition, the multi-layer coating developed is applied in a low temperature process that does not affect the condition of the component being treated. This coating has numerous applications in the industrial and defense sectors. IBC will focus on engineering further the low friction, multi-layer coating to meet the requirements of the Air Foil Bearings through limited testing.