Surviving a loss-of-lubricant event with advanced nanotechnology gearoil for helicopters

TriboTEX is proposing a feasibility study of Helicopter Gearbox Loss-of-Lubricant performance enhancement with proprietary anisotropic nanoparticles produced in-house at commercial scale. TriboTEX nanoparticles are flat with two functionally different sides (sticky/slippery) providing smart lubricous coating generated in-situ with friction. Founders' nanotechnology research was funded by NSF SBIR Phase I/II for scale-up manufacturing and has generated over $1M in commercial sales in the automotive aftermarket in 15 months. Preliminary data was generated in collaboration with Wedeven Associates for rear differential gearboxes in US Army armored vehicles. Obtained data suggests a strong probability of remarkable performance in loss of lubricant events in helicopter transmissions. Our collaborator Wedeven Associates developed testing protocols for (LoL) compliance for helicopter manufacturers. We intend to run an initial set of tests with our advanced lubricant. The goal of this proposal is to generate mission specific data to initiate collaboration with stakeholders. Interested parties outside DOD are all legacy helicopter users where upgrade via lubricant change is a cost beneficial and life saving solution: drilling platform operators, hospitals, EMT, law enforcement, news operators, etc. We seek the support of the Air Force and a technological leadership in advancing this solution to flight certification.