THE PROPOSED PROGRAM RELATES TO THE USE OF DEUTERATED ADDITIVES IN LUBRICANTS TO REDUCE WEAR IN LIMITED ACCESS OR CRITICAL USE MACHINES.

THE PROPOSED PROGRAM RELATES TO THE USE OF DEUTERATED ADDITIVES IN LUBRICANTS TO REDUCE WEAR IN LIMITED ACCESS OR CRITICAL USE MACHINES. THE COST OF REPLACEMENT OF THE BEARINGS IN SUCH MACHINES OR THE NUISANCE "COST" OF DOWN TIME IN SYSTEMS WITH REDUCED DIAMETER BEARINGS IS SIGNIFICANTLY GREATER THAN THE COST OF EITHER THE BEARING ORTHE LUBRICANT. THE MAJOR OBJECTIVE OF THE PROGRAM IS TO MEASURE THE LIFE OF STANDARD "OFF THE SHELF" REDUCED DIAMETER BEARINGS UNDER CONTROLLED TEMPERATURE CONDITIONS WHEN LUBRICATED WITH A LUBRICANT FORMULATED WITH DEUTERATED ZDTP. A SECOND OBJECTIVE IS TO EVALUATE THE FAILED LUBRICANT BY (13)C-NMR AND BY IR TO BETTER CHARACTERIZE THE MECHANISM OF LUBRICANT DEGRADATION. THE MAJOR ADVANTAGE OF THE USE OF DEUTERATED ZDTP AS A LUBRICANT ADDITIVE IS THE INCREASED THERMAL AND OXIDATIVE STABILITY OF THE WEAR PREVENTING ALKYLATED ZDTP-DEGRADATION PRODUCTS. THE PROGRAM APPROACH IS TO FORMULATE AN ESTER TYPE LUBRICANT WITH DEUTERATED ZDTP (N-OCTYL OR ISOPROPYL) AND TO USE THE LUBRICANT IN BEARING WEAR TESTS. BEARING LIFE WILL BE COMPARED WITH LIFE MEASURED WITH NORMAL LUBRICANT-ADDITIVE FORMULATIONS; THE FAILED LUBRICANT WILL BE CHEMICALLY ANALYZED. AN IMPROVEMENT IN BEARING LIFE AT ELEVATED TEMPERATURES BY AT LEAST 50% IS EXPECTED WITH THE DEUTERATED ADDITIVE.