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Low Maintenance Helicopter Tail Driveshaft Hanger Bearing
Navy SBIR 2012.1 - Topic N121-031 NAVAIR - Ms. Donna Moore - [email protected] Opens: December 12, 2011 - Closes: January 11, 2012 N121-031 TITLE: Low Maintenance Helicopter Tail Driveshaft Hanger Bearing TECHNOLOGY AREAS: Air Platform ACQUISITION PROGRAM: PMA 299 OBJECTIVE: Develop a new and innovative design concept for a more-reliable helicopter tail rotor driveshaft hanger bearing to minimize the level of the man power and other resources required to replace and maintain the component. DESCRIPTION: Helicopter tail rotor driveshaft hanger bearings support multiple segments of the helicopter tail rotor driveshaft and allow it to rotate. Therefore, typically, there are several on each H-60. Because of the extreme environmental conditions experienced by ship-based aircraft, as well as this component�s function, the bearing incurs a great deal of corrosion and surface wear. In addition, debris and lubrication become lodged within, thus exacerbating any damage. To ensure the helicopter�s flight worthiness, immediate steps must be taken to correct these issues. The typical mitigation approach adopted is to conduct numerous visual inspections and to replace the bearings frequently. Unfortunately, the costs and level of man power involved in these efforts can be quite high. Furthermore, as a direct consequence, the amount of time that the helicopter is operational drastically decreases. Therefore, a need exists for a robust bearing that requires little to no maintenance and that has a service life of ~10,000 hours. In addition, the proposed component must successfully withstand the harsh conditions to which it will be exposed, as well as satisfy stringent maritime environmental regulations and rotary-wing mass property and safety specifications. Currently, there are no devices that can fill this technology gap. Devising a viable alternative becomes even more complex because the following criteria must also be met. The new bearing must be independently mounted and require no external power source. The proposed concept must entail no other configuration changes to the helicopter, must weigh the same or less than the current bearing, and must fit within the same space. In addition, the driveshaft�s balance must remain within existing parameters, and the radial runout must be the same or better than that of the bearing presently being used. Also desirable is that the resultant bearing be a "drop-in" into Federal Logistics Information System (FLIS) National Stock Number (NSN) item 3110013298573 or 3110011771936 or both to preclude the need for any disassembly and replacement of any other aircraft components. Doing so will save untold hours of labor and substantially reduce the costs of hardware and other associated materials. (Note that the specifications for the two mentioned parts are provided at the end of this section.) An enormous degree of creativity and innovation is required to develop a concept that will satisfy all of these challenging objectives. NSN: 3110013298573 NSN: 3110011771936 PHASE I: Determine the feasibility of developing a helicopter tail rotor driveshaft hanger bearing that meets the stated objectives. Devise a viable concept and perform computer modeling and analysis to validate the proposed design. PHASE II: Based on the results from Phase I, complete the component design. Fabricate a prototype and conduct characterization assessments to establish that it meets the performance specifications. If required, further refine the design and perform bench testing to demonstrate that the new bearing meets the targeted platform environmental, maintenance, and reliability requirements. PHASE III: Fully transition the new bearing to PMA-299 (H-60) and possibly to PMA-274 (VH-60). PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIAL POTENTIAL/DUAL-USE APPLICATIONS: This technology is applicable to aerospace and non-aerospace production assembly and repair supply sources. REFERENCES: 2. WebFLIS, Federal Logistics Information System, Web FLIS National Stock Number (NSN) Output Data, NSN 3110011771936, information for disconnect coupling driveshaft assembly, elastomeric isolated bearing. Retrieved 26 May 2011 from http://www.dlis.dla.mil/webflis/pub/pub_search.aspx?niin=3110011771936&newpage=1#content KEYWORDS: Bearing, Driveshaft, Rotation, Lubrication, Debris, Surface Wear
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