Lubricants will increase the flight safety of aviation and space facilities.
Due to gases temperatures up to 800 – 1500 °C and high turbine shaft speed, not all metal materials can stand engines rigid conditions, say nothing about lubricants. To solve the problem Samara Polytech chemists found substances that increase the thermal stability of aircraft oils.
Scientists of the Organic Chemistry Department of the Samara Polytech have developed original methods for producing high-temperature lubricants for gas turbine engines. The scientific project is lead under the guidance of the head of the department, Professor Yuriy Klimochkin. The results of recent studies published in the journal “Petroleum Chemistry”
(https://link.springer.com/article)
– With the development of aviation industry, the requirements for the lubricants quality are constantly increasing. Primarily it occures due to an increase in temperature loads in the units and an increase in the time for replacing oils, – explains Candidate of Chemical Science Associate Professor Elena Ivleva.
Among all the requirements for oil quality, the most important is high thermo-oxidative stability – the ability of the lubricant at high temperatures and long-term engine operation to maintain its physicochemical and operational properties at the required level. Scientists achieved this by synthetising oil composition with esters gained from adamantane derivatives.
Scientists explain the choice of these compounds by its unique adamantane frame that is as close as possible to the spherical structure. The carbon atoms in it replicates the diamond cell structure, therefore, adamantane demonstrates exceptional thermal stability. Therefore, the formylation of an adamantyl radical increases the thermal stability of the substance and its resistance to oxidation.
For reference:
Adamantane is a chemical compound in the molecule of which the spatial arrangement of carbon atoms is the same as in the diamond crystal.
Samara Polytech is a Flagship university, a powerful research and educational center and a leader in the preparation of elite engineering personnel. Scientists guide research and development in almost all strategic sectors: Petrochemistry, Oil and Gas Production and Processing, Energy, Information, Pharmaceutical and Food Technologies, Construction and Architecture. In addition, the university actively participates in the State Armament Program, in solving strategic problems of the region and implementing significant projects of federal significance. University graduates are famous Russian scientists, government officials, leaders of leading companies.