The liquid oil lubrication system of current aircraft jet engines accounts for approximately 10–15 percent of the total weight of the engine. It has long been a goal of the aircraft gas turbine industry to reduce this weight. Vapor-Phase Lubrication (VPL) is a promising technology to eliminate liquid oil lubrication. The current investigation resulted in the first gas turbine to operate in the absence of conventional liquid lubrication. A phosphate ester, commercially known as DURAD 620B, was chosen for the test. Extensive research at Wright Laboratory demonstrated that this lubricant could reliably lubricate rolling element bearings in the gas turbine engine environment. The Allison T63 engine was selected as the test vehicle because of its small size and bearing configuration. Specifically, VPL was evaluated in the number eight bearing because it is located in a relatively hot environment, in line with the combustor discharge, and it can be isolated from the other bearings and the liquid lubrication system. The bearing was fully instrumented and its performance with standard oil lubrication was documented. Results of this baseline study were used to develop a thermodynamic model to predict the bearing temperature with VPL. The engine was then operated at a ground idle condition with VPL with the lubricant misted into the #8 bearing at 13 ml/h. The bearing temperature stabilized at 283°C within 10 minutes. Engine operation was continued successfully for a total of one hour. No abnormal wear of the rolling contact surfaces was found when the bearing was later examined. Bearing temperatures after engine shutdown indicated the bearing had reached thermodynamic equilibrium with its surroundings during the test. After shutdown bearing temperatures steadily decreased without the soakback effect seen after shutdown in standard lubricated bearings. In contrast, the oil-lubricated bearing ran at a considerably lower operating temperature (83°C) and was significantly heated by its surroundings after engine shutdown. In the baseline tests, the final bearing temperatures never reached that of the operating VPL system.
Skip Nav Destination
Article navigation
April 1998
Research Papers
Investigation of Vapor-Phase Lubrication in a Gas Turbine Engine
K. W. Van Treuren,
K. W. Van Treuren
Department of Aeronautics, United States Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, CO 80840
Search for other works by this author on:
D. N. Barlow,
D. N. Barlow
Department of Aeronautics, United States Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, CO 80840
Search for other works by this author on:
W. H. Heiser,
W. H. Heiser
Department of Aeronautics, United States Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, CO 80840
Search for other works by this author on:
M. J. Wagner,
M. J. Wagner
Fuels and Lubrication Division, Aero Propulsion and Power Directorate, Wright-Patterson AFB, OH 45433
Search for other works by this author on:
N. H. Forster
N. H. Forster
Fuels and Lubrication Division, Aero Propulsion and Power Directorate, Wright-Patterson AFB, OH 45433
Search for other works by this author on:
K. W. Van Treuren
Department of Aeronautics, United States Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, CO 80840
D. N. Barlow
Department of Aeronautics, United States Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, CO 80840
W. H. Heiser
Department of Aeronautics, United States Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, CO 80840
M. J. Wagner
Fuels and Lubrication Division, Aero Propulsion and Power Directorate, Wright-Patterson AFB, OH 45433
N. H. Forster
Fuels and Lubrication Division, Aero Propulsion and Power Directorate, Wright-Patterson AFB, OH 45433
J. Eng. Gas Turbines Power. Apr 1998, 120(2): 257-262 (6 pages)
Published Online: April 1, 1998
Article history
Received:
February 1, 1997
Online:
November 19, 2007
Citation
Van Treuren, K. W., Barlow, D. N., Heiser, W. H., Wagner, M. J., and Forster, N. H. (April 1, 1998). "Investigation of Vapor-Phase Lubrication in a Gas Turbine Engine." ASME. J. Eng. Gas Turbines Power. April 1998; 120(2): 257–262. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.2818113
Download citation file:
Get Email Alerts
Numerical Investigation of CO and NO Production From Premixed Hydrogen/Methane Fuel Blends
J. Eng. Gas Turbines Power (April 2025)
An Efficient Uncertainty Quantification Method Based on Inter-Blade Decoupling for Compressors
J. Eng. Gas Turbines Power (April 2025)
Experimental Design Validation of a Swirl-Stabilized Burner With Fluidically Variable Swirl Number
J. Eng. Gas Turbines Power (April 2025)
Experimental Characterization of a Bladeless Air Compressor
J. Eng. Gas Turbines Power (April 2025)
Related Articles
The Jet Age, Continued
J. Turbomach (January,2005)
Some Aerodynamic Problems of Aircraft Engines: Fifty Years After -The 2007 IGTI Scholar Lecture-
J. Turbomach (July,2009)
The Basics of Powder Lubrication in High-Temperature Powder-Lubricated Dampers
J. Eng. Gas Turbines Power (April,1993)
Theory of Lubrication and Failure of Rolling Contacts
J. Basic Eng (June,1961)
Related Proceedings Papers
Related Chapters
Wear and Contact Fatigue Properties of a Novel Lubricant Additive
Bearing and Transmission Steels Technology
Outlook
Closed-Cycle Gas Turbines: Operating Experience and Future Potential
Bearings, Seals and Lubrication Systems
Handbook for Cogeneration and Combined Cycle Power Plants, Second Edition