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Effect of Accelerated Aging on the Chemical Signature and Performance of a Multiply-Alkylated Cyclopentane (MAC) Lubricant for Space Applications

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Abstract

The thermo-oxidative degradation of a multiply-alkylated cyclopentane (MAC) lubricant for space applications is investigated. Accelerated aging tests at temperature levels between 60 °C and 150 °C are performed and the aging behavior is investigated in detail with spectroscopic, mass spectrometric and chromatographic techniques as well as tribological testing on a ball-on-disk setup. The degree of oxidative aging of the MAC lubricant is monitored with the carbonyl index (CI), which is shown to be well-suited to monitor the degree of degradation of the lubricant. Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis is applied to identify 9-nonadecanone as the main volatile degradation product in all aged samples, suggesting a similar decomposition pathway at all tested temperatures. Size exclusion chromatography (SEC) is further applied to confirm the formation of higher molecular weight degradation products upon aging, affecting the viscosity of the lubricant. In the subsequent ball-on-disk tests, a good correlation of the performance loss with the FTIR measurements is seen and CI values of approx. 0.64 are regarded as threshold for the complete loss of performance at the selected test conditions. The determined CI values in dependence of the aging duration are further used to perform a time–temperature superposition (TTS) to acquire a master curve for accelerated aging. In the resulting Arrhenius plot, non-linear behavior is observed, highlighting the importance of a precise control of accelerated aging parameters for reliable lifetime estimations.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Maximilian Ekam for the dedicated help during the preparation of the samples and accelerated aging tests as well as Peter Unteregger and Anna Fabisikova for acquiring the MS data.

Funding

This research work was performed at the Polymer Competence Center Leoben GmbH (PCCL, Austria) under a program of, and funded by, the European Space Agency (Contract Number 4000125239/18/NL/KML/va) with contributions by Montanuniversitaet Leoben (Austria) and the Mass Spectrometry Centre at the University of Vienna (Austria). PCCL is funded by the Austrian Government and the State Governments of Styria, Upper and Lower Austria. However, the views expressed herein can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of the European Space Agency and are not intended to endorse particular technologies, companies, or products.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Polymer Competence Center Leoben GmbH, Roseggerstrasse 12, 8700, Leoben, Austria

    Archim Wolfberger, Andreas Hausberger, Martin Tockner & Sandra Schlögl

  2. Department of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Vienna, Währinger Strasse 38, 1090, Vienna, Austria

    Martin Zehl

  3. ESA‐ESTEC, Keplerlaan 1, 2201 AZ, Noordwijk, The Netherlands

    Małgorzata Hołyńska & Christopher Semprimoschnig

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  1. Archim Wolfberger
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Correspondence to Archim Wolfberger.

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This manuscript is dedicated to the memory of Christopher Semprimoschnig who sadly passed away on 20 June 2020, while this work was prepared for submission. He was an excellent scientist, engineer and respected colleague who also inspired many young researchers and graduates with his work and he will be missed by all who knew him.

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Wolfberger, A., Zehl, M., Hausberger, A. et al. Effect of Accelerated Aging on the Chemical Signature and Performance of a Multiply-Alkylated Cyclopentane (MAC) Lubricant for Space Applications. Tribol Lett 69, 3 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11249-020-01372-z

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