Fretting Wear Elimination for Titanium Components

The development of the F-35 Lift Fan has revealed the possibility of fretting between the fan input shaft bearing OD surface and the titanium bearing supports in the Lift Fan gearbox housing.  A steel insert is currently used to provide protection against fretting of the gearbox housing.  In order to provide an effective solution and reduce the overall weight of the F-35, IBC Materials and Technologies has developed an advanced tribological coating that will dramatically reduce fretting, wear and corrosion of the Lift Fan gearbox housing, allowing elimination of the steel insert. The proposed solution is based on the Micro Plasma Oxidation (MPO) process that has been developed by IBC Materials and Technologies. The MPO-based Titanium Oxide ceramic coatings will provide superior performance, extended life and lower manufacturing costs compared with alternate methods, providing an opportunity for fuel savings and life cycle cost reduction for the F-35 weapon system. BENEFIT: The MPO-based Titanium Oxide ceramic coatings will allow elimination of the steel inserts currently used to protection against fretting of the titanium bearing supports in the gearbox housing.  This will not only reduce manufacturing part count and costs, it will reduce the overall weight of the F-35 Lift Fan system for the Short Take-Off Vertical Landing (STOVL) variant.  This will lead to reduced fuel and sustainment costs for the F-35 weapon system.