Liquid oxygen turbopump bearings often wear and experience heating and oxidation of the ball and raceway surfaces. If the temperature becomes high enough, the bearing steel could ignite in the high pressure oxygen environment. So far, it has been impossible to measure the temperature of the bearings directly during operation of the turbopumps. However, a method was developed for determining the surface temperature of the bearings from the composition of the oxides using oxidation samples for calibration and Auger Electron Spectroscopy (AES) for chemical analysis. The results showed that a substantial margin relative to the autoignition temperature exists.

Subject
Materials, Composition, Oxides, Calibration, Metal oxides, Liquids, Oxide surfaces, Sputter deposition, Oxygen, Surface profile, Oxidation, Samples, Surface temperature
© 1988 Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP). All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of AMPP. Positions and opinions advanced in this work are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of AMPP. Responsibility for the content of the work lies solely with the author(s).
1988
Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP)
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