Abstract
The friction and wear properties of the prevailing different solid lubricant coatings (Ion-plated Au, Ion-plated Ag and RF-sputtered PTFE on SUS440C stainless steel) used in the bearings of high-speed cryogenic-turbo-pumps of liquid rocket engines were experimentally evaluated in liquid nitrogen immersed conditions. Also the above experiments were carried out with two newly proposed solid lubricant coatings of sputter-ion-plated MoSTi and a new ion-plated Pb on SUS440C stainless steel. The friction coefficient and wear rates of the coatings of ion-plated Au, ion-plated Ag, RF-sputtered PTFE, the new ion-plated Pb and MoS2Ti-SIP (with coating thickness of 0.7±0.1 μm) on SUS440C steel against SUS440C stainless steel ball in liquid nitrogen were compared. Worn surfaces were examined microscopically with a microscope and a profilometer for understanding the mechanisms of friction and wear and transfer film lubrication in liquid nitrogen. It is found that the newly proposed solid lubricant coatings are showing promising results for their use in liquid nitrogen immersed conditions. The sputter-ion-plated MoSTi coating on SUS 440C steel shows a minimum value of friction coefficient (μ=0.015) and wear rate (wc =0.56 × 10-6 mm3/N m) in liquid nitrogen.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 263-272 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| Journal | Tribology Letters |
| Volume | 20 |
| Issue number | 3-4 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2005 Dec |
Keywords
- Cryogenic-turbo-pump
- MoSTi-SIP (sputter-ion-plating)
- Pb-ion-plating
- Solid lubricant coating
- SUS440C steel
- Transfer film