Materials Research for Advanced Inertial Instrumentation. Task 2. Gas Bearing Material Development.
Abstract
The gas bearing materials research program was pursued with the aim of producing novel materials, with new technologies, for applicability to advanced inertial instrument designs. The objective was to produce low friction, high wear-resistance, high integrity gas bearing surfaces that were integrated within a beryllium structure. It was required that these surfaces not be limited in performance by factors known to influence existing hardware, such as porosity, adhesion, and nonconformity in physical properties to the several structural components. Three approaches were selected to achieve the desired gas bearing surface. These included investigating reactive-diffusion bonded CVD-boron films on beryllium, boron-ion implanted beryllium surfaces, and the Be-TiB2 metal matrix composites. CVD-boron deposition on beryllium was found to proceed well in a high vacuum, bakeable, all stainless chamber. The successful procedure involved thermal decomposition of diborane on a beryllium sample surface which was heated by RF induction to about 700 to 800 C. Boron-ion implantation was performed on specially prepared beryllium surfaces, using a high current machine, up to boron concentrations of well over 50 atom percent. The Be-TiB2 composites were produced by hot isostatic pressing (HIP) of blended and cold compacted beryllium and titanium diboride powders.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 01, 1984
- Accession Number
- ADA140435
Entities
People
- Debanik Das
- H. Newborn
- K. Kumar
Organizations
- Charles Stark Draper Laboratory