Anti-coking additive for ester-based aerospace gas turbine engine oils

Current and future aerospace gas turbine engine oils must be capable of operating at the elevated temperatures experienced in aircraft turbine engines. One of the more important properties for these oils is their resistance to forming liquid phase and gas phase solid decomposition products and deposits, typically referred to as coke because it is black and carbonaceous. These deposits can build up on the hot engine components and lead to significant engine operational failure.  In this SBIR program, the US Air Force is seeking to develop and demonstrate anti-coking additives for use in these fluids.  These additives must be compatible with existing GTO fluids and cannot adversely affect the other critical properties of the engine lubricant.  METSS proposes to develop a new class of lubricant additives designed to address the coking issue of existing GTO fluids, using a proven approach to cost-effective materials development.  METSS will draw on existing materials, working directly with industry participants to select the best materials for product formulation.  This effort will include testing and evaluation of the new fluids, as well as optimizing these fluids to meet and exceed the performance requirements of the currently used fluids as called for in MIL-PRF-7808 and MIL-PRF-23699. BENEFIT: The new anti-coking additives will benefit both military as well as commercial applications, as coking is a significant problem with commercial aircraft engines as well as stationary turbine power generation.  Engine advancements in these applications usually follow military advancements by about 5 years, so anti-coking additives should find widespread use for these applications.