United States. The Air Force and a small business partner developed an innovative, high-temperature, abrasion-resistant coating that could directly improve the reliability and maintenance of air force weapons systems, including the F-35 Lightning II.
The Texas Research Institute (TRI) program in Austin has shown that Proteckt high-temperature coating significantly improves abrasion resistance at operating temperatures during laboratory testing.
"We anticipate that the new material will provide the program with an estimated $14 million in lifecycle cost savings," George Woodworth, project director at the SBIR Air Force Research Laboratory.
Abrasion-resistant camouflage coatings are used to protect the composite surfaces of the aircraft. These coatings are thin and are usually spray-applied. Over time, existing products experience some degradation in performance and color, especially when exposed to high temperatures, and can cause extensive damage to the underlying composite material.
"When a coating wears prematurely, it also causes an unscheduled maintenance load to repair or coat the area," Woodworth said. "If the degradation is not discovered in time, damage can occur to the section of aircraft that it is."
The Air Force says that currently, preferred abrasion-resistant camouflage coatings are filled with polyurethane paints. These paints have moderate resistance at high temperature, but very poor long-term wear resistance at high temperatures and degrade over time, resulting in the need for frequent repair and repainting.
However, the Air Force needs abrasion-resistant coatings that can withstand high temperatures for longer periods and that match existing paint camouflage schemes for aircraft parts. TRI evaluated a variety of raw materials, developing numerous coating formulations in conjunction with the experimental design development process, and then identified the best formulations.
The new Proteckt camouflage coating offers great improvements in abrasion resistance at high temperatures for aerospace composite applications. The coating heals faster, is resistant to standard aircraft fluids, meets color and gloss requirements, and exhibits good adhesion, even after accelerated liquid exposures.
