Applications of Nanostructured Materials as Additives in Space Fluid Lubricants

Abstract

With an extended service life expectancy of space crafts, fluid lubricants attracted intense interests of the fields of tribology, due to their long life under EDH conditions, higher thermal conductance, lower frictional and torque noise, and rapid processing compared to the solid lubricants. However, there are still some disadvantages of fluid lubricants, such as finite vapor pressure, narrow range of operating temperature, degradation of some oils, viscosity temperature-dependence and so on. So far, there have existed some space fluid lubricants, such as PFPE, MAC, PAO and mineral oil based lubricants. It seems that there will be a challenge for a new type of fluid lubricants to come out without any limits above. Recent arisen nanostructured materials assisted in improvement of the research of space fluid lubricants, and the results indicated that some nanostructured materials exactly promoted the tribological properties of fluid lubricants. This paper reviewed recent development of nanostructured materials as additives in space fluid lubricants.