Hentzen
Hentzen has recently introduced BCCC, heat absorption coatings, and chrome-free primers for the commercial market. For
the military, chrome-free primers for both interior and exterior
surfaces, and fluoropolymer polyurethane for topcoats. Epoxy
and polyurethane polymers are used in both the commercial and
military product development.
Hentzen was recently successful in qualifying a chrome-free
primer on the Lockheed Martin FSCM 81755 for use on the
F- 16 program.
Mankiewicz
With regards to passenger-added values, Mankiewicz says it
has developed a solution for health, safety and environment: in
an era of Ebola and other infectious diseases, even more value
is added to the paint by the company’s antimicrobial coatings.
Despite the confined spaces and use by many people, the paint
combats bacterial growth effectively, for example in the lavatory
and galley areas.
Further, Mankiewicz has been involved in the development
of riblet coatings: a paint that mimics the texture of sharkskin.
The introduction of nanoscale grooves into the topcoat results
in less aerodynamic surface friction, particularly when flying
at high speeds. In order to create the special texture the paint
must overcome some tricky challenges: it must remain pliable
long enough to form the riblets, but then dry as quickly as pos-
sible to maintain the corrugated surface. UV light is employed
to achieve the fast drying stage this requires. Of course, here
again the properties of durability, colour stability and resis-
tance to the environment an aircraft coating must withstand
are important considerations.
PPG
PPG’s aerospace coatings business continues to invest significantly in technology and product development. The company
has recently launched Aerocron electrocoat primer, the first in
the aerospace industry. As the original inventor of the electrocoat process and products, PPG has extended its industry-leading position with the development of our Aerocron product
which utilizes anodic coating technology in a submersion coating process which increases material utilization from 30 to
60%, with spray processes to well over 90 percent with this process. Further, it saves significant weight of the coating material
applied to the substrate, particularly as the complexity of the
LIFT Technology Project Focuses on Lightest Metal on the Planet: Lithium
United Technologies Research Center and the University of Michigan lead the LIFT partnership focused on aluminum-lithium alloys
LIFT (Lightweight Innovations for Tomorrow) has launched a technology project
focused on predicting the performance of
aluminum-lithium alloys – important materials for the next generation of jet engines
and other aerospace applications. Lead
partners on the project, United Technologies Research Center and the University of
Michigan will work on advanced computer
simulations to better understand and predict the performance of aluminum-lithium
alloys in formed parts.
Engineers are interested in lithium
because it is the lightest metal found in
nature – just one atomic number heavier than helium. When combined with
aluminum, lithium creates an alloy that
is both lighter and stronger than aluminum alone.
Alex Staroselsky, principal research
engineer, United Technologies Research
Center is leading the industry side of the
project partnership, which also includes
material process modeling and simula-
tion of the properties evolution during
industrial operations. He said, “Any com-
pany interested in these alloys may ben-
efit from what we develop, but we are re-
ally focused on improving turbine engine
components for the aerospace industry.”
The project expects to develop a predic-
tive simulation tool that can be calibrated
and validated against practical experi-
ence and various lab experiments to be
performed at Case Western Research
University and The Ohio State University.
John Allison, LIFT Technical Leader
for Integrated Computational Materi-
als Engineering (ICME), said, “Earlier
aluminum-lithium alloys sometimes had
issues with cracking or performing in high
temperature environments. The latest
generation of these alloys show great im-
provements in several areas, but we really
need more integrated computer models
to predict their performance at a number
of steps, from their atomic structure right
up to a finished component.”
Allison added, “Aluminum-lithium
alloys often have a microstructure analo-
gous to the grain in wood. It behaves
differently when you bend it in one direc-
tion rather than another. The unique in-
terdisciplinary team expects to develop
what’s called crystal plasticity modeling
to predict the final microstructure in an
alloy. That in turn defines the mechanical
properties of the alloy as it’s formed into
a part.”
Alan Taub, chief technology officer at
LIFT said, “With the right computational
tools we can design new components
both faster and better. The newer designs
can deliver the same performance using
less material – saving even more weight
using an already lightweight metal.”
Lockheed Martin is the other industry partner on the project. Case Western
Reserve University, The Ohio State University, and Southwest Research Institute
will contribute to the two-year project as
research participants.
