Bearing Retainer Material for Modern Jet Engines

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Abstract
Modern jet engines require bearing retainers that can provide reliable service under stringent and unusual conditions. In current commercial transports, these engines commonly operate at 1.5 × 106 DN for 12000 hours or more between overhauls, and in military applications, the cage and bearings are required to retain its integrity when the oil is lost for up to one minute while at foil power. Standard bronze retainers with lead plate over silver plate have proven inadequate to meet these requirements. To find a more suitable retainer, candidate cage materials and coatings were evaluated in a test rig simulating engine conditions. A silver plate AMS 6415 cage material was found capable of surviving a program which comprised 50, one minute, oil cutoff cycles. An additional program was conducted to optimize the Ag-plate coating thickness which was established as being 0.001 to 0.002-inches thick. Subsequent engine evaluation of this silver plated steel retainer verified the rig test results. This material combination is now used in production engines in both commercial and military aircraft.

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