HIGH TEMPERATURE MILITARY DIESEL TRIBOLOGY SYSTEM

ADVANCED LOW HEAT REJECTION (LHR) ENGINE LIFE EXPECTANCY HAS BEEN LIMITED ALMOST ENTIRELY BY PERFORMANCE OF THE LIQUID LUBRICANT COMPONENT OF THE TRIBOLOGY SYSTEM. THE ADVANCED INTEGRATED PROPULSION SYSTEM (AIPS) DIESEL ENGINE IS A LEADING CANDIDATE FOR THE ARMY'S BLOCK III ENGINE, TO BE USED IN THE NEXT-GENERATION MAIN BATTLE TANK. CURRENT LUBRICANTS ARE INCAPABLE OF MEETING 1000 HOUR LIFE GOALS FOR THE UNCOOLED VERSION OF THE AIPS DIESEL ENGINE. THEY DO NOT POSSESS THE EXCEPTIONAL OXIDATIVE STABILITY NEEDED IN THE SEVERE HIGH-TEMPERATURE ENVIRONMENT OF THE UNCOOLED AIPS ENGINE. IN THE WORK PROPOSED HERE, WE WILL DEVELOP AND DEMONSTRATE A FULLY FORMULATED AROMATIC ESTER LUBRICANT SUITABLE FOR ACHIEVING 1000 HOUR LIFE EXPECTANCY IN ADVANCED MILITARY LHR ENGINES. INNOVATIVE LUBRICANTS BASED ON HIGHLY STABLE AROMATIC ESTERS SHOW EXTRAORDINARY POTENTIAL FOR MEETING THE AIPS SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS. THIS PROGRAM WILL MAKE USE OF SRA'S PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE WITH SUCCESSFUL U.S. ARMY LUBRICANT DEVELOPMENT. A NOVEL ASPECT WILL BE MOLECULAR MODELING TO PREDICT AND CORRELATE STRUCTURE/PROPERTY RELATIONSHIPS TO OPTIMIZE THE PROPERTIES OF LUBRICANT FLUIDS AND ADDITIVES. THE PHASE I ACTIVITIES WILL INCLUDE MOLECULAR DESIGN, SYNTHESIS OF THE NEW FLUID, ADDITIVE INCORPORATION, CHARACTERIZATION OF OXIDATIVE LIFE AND DEPOSIT-FORMING TENDENCIES, AND DETERMINATION OF WEAR AND FRICTION PERFORMANCE WITH ADVANCED CHROMIUM OXIDE RING/LINER MATERIALS.