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At least 19 records

Rise of Air Bubbles in Aircraft Lubricating Oils

Lubricating and antifoaming additives in aircraft lubricating oils may impede the escape of small bubbles from the oil by forming shells of liquid with a quasi-solid or gel structure around the bubbles. The rates of rise of small air bubbles, up to 2 millimeters in diameter, were measured at room temperature in an undoped oil, in the same oil containing foam inhibitors, and in an oil containing lubricating additives. The apparent diameter of the air bubbles was measured visually through an ocular micrometer on a traveling telescope. The bubbles in the undoped oil obeyed Stokes' Law, the rate of rise being proportional to the square of the apparent diameter and inversely proportional to the viscosity of the oil. The bubbles in the oils containing lubricating additives or foam inhibitors rose more slowly than the rate predicted by Stokes 1 Law from the apparent diameter, and the rate of rise decreased as the length of path the bubbles traveled increased. A method is derived to calculate the thickness of the liquid shell which would have to move with the bubbles in the doped oils to account for the abnoi'I!l8.lly slow velocity. The maximum thickness of this shell, calculated from the velocities observed, was equal to the bubble radius.

LUBRICATING OILS - FOAMING↗

Support of Oil Lubrication by Bonded Coatings

A new generation of lubricating lacquers for treatment of metal surfaces has been developed. These new coatings have proved to be oil-compatible and are used in oil-lubricated systems. The oil lubrication is supported thereby through reduction of friction and increase of load-carrying capacity during boundary conditions. For difficult tribological systems, the problem-solving lubricating concept has proved to be the beneficial combination of lubricating oil and bonded coatings. A number of practical applications are presented.

Ruediger Holinski↗

Intermetallic Nickel-Titanium Alloys for Oil-Lubricated Bearing Applications

An intermetallic nickel-titanium alloy, NITINOL 60 (60NiTi), containing 60 wt% nickel and 40 wt% titanium, is shown to be a promising candidate material for oil-lubricated rolling and sliding contact applications such as bearings and gears. NiTi alloys are well known and normally exploited for their shape memory behavior. When properly processed, however, NITINOL 60 exhibits excellent dimensional stability and useful structural properties. Processed via high temperature, high-pressure powder metallurgy techniques or other means, NITINOL 60 offers a broad combination of physical properties that make it unique among bearing materials. NITINOL 60 is hard, electrically conductive, highly corrosion resistant, less dense than steel, readily machined prior to final heat treatment, nongalling and nonmagnetic. No other bearing alloy, metallic or ceramic encompasses all of these attributes. Further, NITINOL 60 has shown remarkable tribological performance when compared to other aerospace bearing alloys under oil-lubricated conditions. Spiral orbit tribometer (SOT) tests were conducted in vacuum using NITINOL 60 balls loaded between rotating 440C stainless steel disks, lubricated with synthetic hydrocarbon oil. Under conditions considered representative of precision bearings, the performance (life and friction) equaled or exceeded that observed with silicon nitride or titanium carbide coated 440C bearing balls. Based upon this preliminary data, it appears that NITINOL 60, despite its high titanium content, is a promising candidate alloy for advanced mechanical systems requiring superior and intrinsic corrosion resistance, electrical conductivity and nonmagnetic behavior under lubricated contacting conditions.

DellaCorte, C.↗

Recycling used lubricating oil at the deep space stations

A comparison is made of the lubricating oil recycling methods used in the Deep Space Station 43 test and the basic requirements which could favor recycling of oil for continuous reuse. The basic conditions for successful recycling are compared to the conditions that exist in the Deep Space Network (DSN). This comparison shows that to recycle used oil in the DSN would not only be expensive but also nonproductive.

Koh, J. L.↗

Evaporation rate and vapor pressure of selected polymeric lubricating oils.

A recently developed ultrahigh-vacuum quartz spring mass sorption microbalance has been utilized to measure the evaporation rates of several low-volatility polymeric lubricating oils at various temperatures. The evaporation rates are used to calculate the vapor pressures by the Langmuir equation. A method is presented to accurately estimate extended temperature range evaporation rate and vapor pressure data for polymeric oils, incorporating appropriate corrections for the increases in molecular weight and the change in volatility of the progressively evaporating polymer fractions. The logarithms of the calculated data appear to follow linear relationships within the test temperature ranges, when plotted versus 1000/T. These functions and the observed effusion characteristics of the fluids on progressive volatilization are useful in estimating evaporation rate and vapor pressure changes on evaporative depletion.

Gardos, M. N.↗

Simulated 'On-Line' Wear Metal Analysis of Lubricating Oils by X-Ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy

The objective of this project was to assess the sensitivity of X-ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy (XFS) for quantitative evaluation of metal particle content in engine oil suspensions and the feasibility of real-time, dynamic wear metal analysis. The study was focused on iron as the majority wear metal component. Variable parameters were: particle size, particle concentration and oil velocity. A commercial XFS spectrometer equipped with interchangeable static/dynamic (flow cell) sample chambers was used. XFS spectra were recorded for solutions of Fe-organometallic standard and for a series of DTE oil suspensions of high purity spherical iron particles of 2g, 4g, and 8g diameter, at concentrations from 5 ppm to 5,000 ppm. Real contaminated oil samples from Langley Air Force Base aircraft engines and NASA Langley Research Center wind tunnels were also analyzed. The experimental data conform the reliability of XFS as the analytical method of choice for this project. Intrinsic inadequacies of the instrument for precise analytic work at low metal concentrations were identified as being related to the particular x-ray beam definition, system geometry, and flow-cell materials selection. This work supports a proposal for the design, construction and testing of a conceptually new, miniature XFS spectrometer with superior performance, dedicated to on-line, real-time monitoring of lubricating oils in operating engines. Innovative design solutions include focalization of the incident x-ray beam, non-metal sample chamber, and miniaturization of the overall assembly. The instrument would contribute to prevention of catastrophic engine failures. A proposal for two-year funding has been presented to NASA Langley Research Center Internal Operation Group (IOG) Management, to continue the effort begun by this summer's project.

Kelliher, Warren C.↗