|
 |
Lubrication for Extreme Environments (Patents Pending)
The lubricant division at GBI is pioneering alternative forms of lubrication for use in extreme environments. These areas include: upper atmosphere (satellites, radiosondes, meteorological equipment, missiles, rockets, weapon systems); airplanes and railroad train braking and/or switching systems; deep ocean (unmanned probes and submarines, weapon systems); surface vehicles, equipment and machinery operating in north and south poles; deep space (planetary exploration vehicles); any artificially created extreme cold environment.
A wide variety of materials are used for manufacturing lubricants. Animal lubricants are obtained from the fat of common animals and can be classified as hard fats (stearin) and soft fats (lard) or naturally occurring combinations. Vegetable lubricants include rape seed oil, cottonseed oil, soybean oil, castor oil and linseed soil. They range in properties from solid to liquid. Petroleum and mineral oil lubricants, because of their greater stability, are usually preferred for machine applications. Lubricants range from light oils to very heavy solid greases. Graphite, a solid, is also used as a lubricant. Due to increased requirements and performance specifications for lubricants, including higher temperature, extreme low temperature, pressure applications, greater durability, and tolerance to wide fluctuations in ambient temperature conditions, numerous synthetic lubricants have been developed. Synthetic lubricants include synthetic hydrocarbons, carboxylic acid esters, silicones, polyethers (polyalkylene glycols), phosphate esters, silicate esters, highly fluorinated compounds, and polyaromatics (polyphenyls and polyphenyl ethers).
|
|
Related Links
Whitepapers
Downloadable PDF docs
|
|
