Military Helicopter Bearings

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Situation:

Combat helicopters are vulnerable to sudden loss of transmission lubrication due to enemy fire. Increasing the transmission life after sudden lubrication loss increases the probability of finding a suitable emergency landing site and directly saves lives.

Testing:

The performance of standard bearings and standard bearings with DICRONITE® dry lubrication was compared under sudden lubrication loss conditions.

  • Bearings: M-50 steel roller bearings
  • Load: 114 kgf (250 lbf) radial load
  • Speed: 10,000 rpm, inner race
  • Lubricant: MIL-PRF-7808 lubricant at 65°C (175°F)

Results:

Under lubrication loss conditions, standard bearings failed at a maximum time of 6 minutes, minimum time of 3 minutes.

 

A DICRONITE® lubricated bearing ran for the duration of the test (38 minutes), under lubrication loss conditions, a six fold increase. DICRONITE® increased bearing life sufficiently to enable an emergency landing per the military’s test conditions.

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