Deposition in Gas Turbine Oil Systems- Part 1: Analysis and Classification

Synthetic lubricants operating in todays gas turbine engines are often working to their limits in respect to thermal stability Breakdown of these oils causes the formation of deposits in different areas of the engine oil system. Before action can be taken to minimise the deposition technology by either changes to formulation or design consideration it is important that the true nature of the deposit is examined.

This paper summarises the results of investigation of deposits taken from laboratory tests and engine environments.

These studies, conducted in a joint venture by the authors, attempt to characterise and classify the deposits in terms of their physical and chemical nature, in order that more information may be gained about the mechanism of deposit formation.