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Brewe, D. E.

Publications and source records attributed to Brewe, D. E..

50 records · Page 3

Performance of high speed ball bearings with lead and lead alloy plated retainers in liquid hydrogen at 1.2 million DN

Ball bearings with lead- and lead-alloy-coated retainers were operated in liquid hydrogen at 30,000 rpm under a thrust load of 400 lb. Bearing lives were compared using different: (1) lead- and lead-alloy coatings, (2) coating thicknesses, (3) substrate materials, (4) retainer locating surfaces, and (5) plating techniques. Longer bearing run times were achieved using retainers with a lead-tin-copper alloy coating electroplated onto a leaded-bronze material and an aluminum-bronze alloy. Thirty percent of the bearings tested achieved the desired objective of 10 hours. All of the lead-alloy coated retainers exceeded this objective. A coating thickness of at least 0.0014 in. was used for all bearings exceeding the 10-hour goal.

Brewe, D. E.

Performance of 40-millimeter-bore ball bearings with lead- and lead-alloy-plated retainers in liquid hydrogen at 1.2 million DN

Forty-millimeter-bore ball bearings with lead- and lead-alloy-coated retainers were operated in liquid hydrogen at 30,000 rpm under a thrust load of 1780 N (400 lb.) Four different substrate materials were used for the retainer. Longer bearing run times were achieved with a lead-tin-copper alloy coating plated onto a leaded-bronze material (22.5 hr) and an aluminum-bronze alloy (19.3 hr). One bearing with a pure lead coating achieved the desired objective of 10 hr. This bearing had an aluminum - bronze substrate retainer and ran successfully for 12.4 hr. Additions of antimony to the lead provided an alloy coating with better wear resistance than pure lead; however, this coating was abrasive to the outer-race lands.

Brewe, D. E.

Performance of high speed ball bearings with lead plated retainers in liquid hydrogen for potential use in a radiation environment

Ball bearings (40-mm bore) with lead coated, aluminum-bronze retainers were operated successfully in liquid hydrogen at 30,000 rpm under a thrust load of 1780 newtons (400 lb) for running times up to 15 hours. The lead transfer films on the bearing surfaces prevented galling of bearing components. The lead coated retainers used in this investigation show promise for use in the high radiation environments, where polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) based materials are not suitable. Failure was a result of the loss of lead lubricant on the retainer-inner-land and ball-pocket surfaces. The longest bearing life (15 hr) was achieved with a lead coating thickness of 50 micrometers (0.002 in.) on the retainer. Other bearings had lives of 2 to 6 hours.

Wisander, D. W.