Novel Self-Lubricating Coating for Small UAV and Attritable Weapon Systems

Rolling element bearings used in small Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) engines have to be continuously lubricated to keep their functionality and avoid adhesive wear and excessive heat generation due to friction.  These fluid lubricated systems in small engines bear additional weight and cost of the subsystems in order to gain the benefits of low friction, damping and load bearing capacity.  To eliminate this additional burden of the lubrication subsystem and to improve the operational service life of the rolling element bearings, IBC proposes advanced coating system based on Me-MoS2(Me:Ti, Cr) that is super lubricative, dense, hard (600 – 700 HV), and corrosion resistant.  The objective of the Phase I base project is to optimize the coating for the specific application and to scale-up the coating process for application on the identified roller bearing components.  In addition, limited bearing test will be conducted on the coated bearings.  In the Phase I Option, IBC proposes to use the results of the base project testing to modify the coating parameters and conduct more extensive bearing tests.