Chameleon Solid Film Lubricants for High Temperature Bearing Applications

There exists a continuing need to reduce friction and wear and extend the life of aircraft engine components that operate under high wear conditions. These components are crucial to mission success and safety, and military operational readiness. Engine components are complicated to overhaul and very expensive to replace, solutions that mitigate wear and extend component lifetime will have the highest pay-off. Application of high temperature solid film lubricants coatings to wear surfaces of key engine components, such as bearings is needed for achieving longer part life; however existing solutions exhibit premature wear. We propose applying our adaptive, thin and durable high temperature i-Kote® solid film lubricants to bearings operating in extreme environments. The goal of this SBIR program is to further develop the technology of i-Kote® solid film lubricant coatings via well controlled experiments to explore the high temperature capabilities of doped nanostructured films of i-Kote® using specific purpose compounds as chameleon additives. The i-Kote® family of solid film lubricants are a complex combination of synergistic nanomaterials capable of changing the tribological properties of the surfaces on which it is deposited in response to the current operating conditions in order to minimize friction and wear. Our experiments during phase I allowed a rapid down-selection of additives to achieve maximum benefit from the chameleon properties. BENEFIT: Advantages: • i-Kote® solid film lubricants out perform commercially available technologies due to extreme adhesion, lower friction and longer life. • New patent pending technology & novel process has been recently developed • Strong support from OEM engine manufacturer • Compelling evidence from Phase I testing This technology has the potential to solve life cycle cost issues for a variety of critical military components. Of immediate relevance are main thrust bearings identified by Rolls Royce, in the LiftFan®, a major component of the engine for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Subsequent uses are anticipated on other engine components for high temperature and high mach applications