(45g) High Performance Thin Film Based Coatings In Aircraft Applications

Conference: American Institute of Chemical Engineers
Annual Meeting

Date of the
conference: October 16-21^st, 2011

Title:  High
Performance Thin Film Based Coatings in Aircraft Applications

Author: Marvi A. Matos, PhD

Organization:
The Boeing Company

Abstract

The use polymer-based materials
and coatings in aircraft components is two-fold, first, the weight reductions
are highly desirable to decrease fuel consumption and second, polymer-based
materials are usually less expensive and convenient to manufacture. However
when used in applications with strict optical requirements, these polymeric
surfaces can be susceptible to erosion which results in increased haze and
decreased clarity. For example, when staple materials such as polycarbonate or
stretched acrylic are used in windows, windshields and canopies, one of the
drawbacks is the tendency to scratch and craze. Polymeric windows have been
historically coated with polysiloxane or polyurethane
based coatings to overcome this limitation by improving the surface resistance
to scratches. Still, improvements to the processes involved can decrease the
required long drying times and can offer long term solutions in which the
resistance to erosion is maintained overtime. Advanced thin film coatings based
on Plasma Deposition Technologies can improve the durability of many components
on aircrafts. These technologies can be exploited to generate materials with
high performance, which are also environmentally friendly and produced with
waste free processes. We are currently focusing our efforts in the development
and study of thin films to improve the resistance to material erosion on
polymeric substrates with applications in the aerospace industry and
defense.