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Journals
Lubricants
Special Issues
New Challenges in Tribology of Space Mechanisms
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New Challenges in Tribology of Space Mechanisms

A special issue of Lubricants (ISSN 2075-4442).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 February 2024) | Viewed by 5090

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Guillaume Colas

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institut Femto-st, CNRS UMR 6174, Department of Applied Mechanics, 24 rue de l’Epitaphe, 25030 Besançon, France
Interests: tribology; thin coatings; vacuum; tribochemistry; dry lubricants; molybdenum compounds; composite coatings; micromechanics of materials
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

From the very beginning of space exploration, “space tribology” became a specific field of competences in its own right. Over the last 70 years, researchers and engineers rapidly understood that tribology in space is a real challenge because it suggests lubricating a mechanism, not only in the vacuum of space but also in several environments on Earth (e.g., simulated vacuum, dry and humid air, N2 and CO2, environment, cryogenic and high temperatures, etc.). The constantly increasing complexity of space mechanisms and the requirement for increasingly longer lifetimes with no possible maintenance once in space highlight the primary importance of tribology towards the success or failure of the mission.

The emerging CubeSat and NanoSat, as well as satellite constellation and the renewed interest in human space exploration (e.g., lunar exploration), require innovative new solutions to lubricate mechanisms and manage the contact between mechanical parts. These challenges include lowering the cost of lubricants, extending the adaptability of lubricants towards environments (air, vacuum, high and low temperature, etc.), improving the effectiveness in dust environment, etc.

This Special Issue aims to promote the current advances and future trends in the field of space tribology. Mechanisms are not limited to satellites or rovers. It covers launchers, landers, future moon and Mars base stations, etc. Papers dealing with the fundamental applications of lubricants to meet the challenge of lubricating space mechanisms are welcome. Lubricants that are of interest in this Special Issue include, but are not limited to, solids lubricants (bulk, coatings, composites), fluid lubricants, and greases. Theoretical and experimental studies are also of interest. Researchers working in space tribology and related fields are invited to submit their paper. Both academic and industrial contributions are welcome.

Dr. Guillaume Colas
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Lubricants is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

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Related Special Issue

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

28 pages, 22903 KiB  
Article
Cold Spray Deposition of MoS2- and WS2-Based Solid Lubricant Coatings
by Jeffrey R. Lince, Peter Woods, Eric Woods, Wai H. Mak, Scott D. Sitzman and Andrew J. Clough
Lubricants 2024, 12(7), 237; https://doi.org/10.3390/lubricants12070237 - 28 Jun 2024
Viewed by 1048
Abstract
The cold spray deposition technique has been used to produce a new class of solid lubricant coatings using powder feedstocks of the metal disulfides WS2 or MoS2, either pure or mixed with Cu and Ni metal powders. Friction and cycle [...] Read more.
The cold spray deposition technique has been used to produce a new class of solid lubricant coatings using powder feedstocks of the metal disulfides WS2 or MoS2, either pure or mixed with Cu and Ni metal powders. Friction and cycle lives were obtained using ball-on-flat reciprocating tribometry of coated 304 SS flats in dry nitrogen and vacuum at higher Hertzian contact stresses (Smax = 1386 MPa (201 ksi)). The measured friction and thickness of the coatings were much lower than for previous studies (COF = 0.03 ± 0.01 and ≤1 µm, respectively), which is due to their high metal disulfide:metal ratios. Cu-containing metal sulfide coatings exhibited somewhat higher cycle lifetimes than the pure metal sulfide coatings, even though the Cu content was only ~1 wt%. Profiling of wear tracks for coatings tested to 3000 cycles (i.e., pre-failure) yielded specific wear rates in the range 3–7 × 10−6 mm3N−1m−1, similar to other solid lubricant coatings. When compared to other coating techniques, the cold spray method represents a niche that has heretofore been vacant. In particular, it will be useful in many precision ball-bearing applications that require higher throughput and lower costs than sputter-deposited MoS2-based coatings. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Challenges in Tribology of Space Mechanisms)
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15 pages, 4470 KiB  
Article
Accelerated Thermo-Catalytic Degradation of Perfluoropolyether (PFPE) Lubricants for Space Applications
by Milena Gleirscher, Archim Wolfberger, Sandra Schlögl, Małgorzata Hołyńska and Andreas Hausberger
Lubricants 2023, 11(2), 81; https://doi.org/10.3390/lubricants11020081 - 14 Feb 2023
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3392
Abstract
Perfluoropolyethers (PFPE) are a class of frequently used lubricants in space applications due to their high stability under demanding conditions. However, they are susceptible to aging, with the aging mechanism being dependent on the specific material combination and storage condition. A Lewis-acid-induced thermo-catalytic [...] Read more.
Perfluoropolyethers (PFPE) are a class of frequently used lubricants in space applications due to their high stability under demanding conditions. However, they are susceptible to aging, with the aging mechanism being dependent on the specific material combination and storage condition. A Lewis-acid-induced thermo-catalytic degradation mechanism is of concern, for example, under steel-on-steel sliding contact, and can be relevant for long-term storage (LTS). Accelerated aging experiments were performed on Fomblin® Z25 and Krytox™ 143AC to investigate thermal stability under the influence of iron(III) fluoride (FeF3) at elevated temperatures (180 °C, 200 °C, and 220 °C) up to a total duration of 2000 h. The degradation effects were monitored via selected analysis techniques: mass loss of the samples due to degradation and subsequent evaporation during aging, FTIR spectroscopy to investigate changes to the chemical structure, dynamic viscosity measurements for the investigation of a potential impact due to changes in molecular mass, and a ball-on-disc tribological test setup to obtain friction behavior of the aged lubricants. Distinct differences between the two types of PFPE lubricants regarding stability to thermo-catalytic degradation were found. Fomblin® Z25 was highly affected by the presence of FeF3 within the selected aging conditions, exhibiting high mass loss, a significant drop in dynamic viscosity, and an increased coefficient of friction due to degradation reactions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Challenges in Tribology of Space Mechanisms)
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