Polymers in Defence & Aerospace Applications 2010
Join NuSil Technology at Polymers in Defence & Aerospace Applications
Polymers in Defence and Aerospace Applications is the second international conference specifically looking at the use of polymers in the aerospace and defence industries. It represents an invaluable opportunity for all tiers of these complex supply chains to come together and listen to industrial and academic presentations on the novel materials and applications that are currently impacting the industry.
Brian Burkitt, Technical Sales, will present “Silicone Based Coatings for Aircraft Applications” on Thurs, Feb 11 @ 3:15. This presentation will highlight our line of ice-phobic materials for aircraft applications.
In recent years silicone coatings have gained popularity in many aircraft applications because of their broad temperature range, excellent ice-phobic characteristics and general resistance to many different aviation fluids.
Application usage has shown certain silicones have a Glass Transition Temperature of 
-130°C. Other studies have found minimal physical property degradation after multiple short exposures to 300°C, with continuous use at 200°C. Silicones in general are elastomeric and flexible even under extreme temperatures, making excellent coatings and sealants. As adhesives, their low modulus at extreme temperatures offer relief to bonded substrates with mismatched coefficient of thermal expansions.
Ice build-up has a major economic impact and causes serious problems across many industries. There are several current strategies to eliminate or reduce ice buildup, however most of them, such as chemical or thermal de-icing and defrosting, can be hazardous, expensive or tedious. A more practical, economical choice for aircraft manufacturers is to use materials or apply coatings that reduce ice adhesion to surfaces. Silicone’s ability to remain elastic at low temperatures is extremely valuable in icing conditions. Several new materials were evaluated using the Zero Degree Cone test developed by the Department of the Army, Engineer Research and Development Center, Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL). The results reveal that these new silicone materials show low ice adhesion comparable to Teflon® or bare aluminum: 1,576 kPa for aluminum, 228 kPa for Teflon and 38 kPa for silicone.
For decades fluorosilicone has been known to have minimal swell when exposed to jet fuels. Recent advances in fluorosilicone technology, provides superior adhesion, stronger physical properties and unique forms of coatings for the aircraft industry. A unique new material combines fuel resistance with low ice adhesion. After a 7 day soak exposure to JP8 the mass gain is less than 0.2%. A 7 day soak in DiEGME alone, has a mass gain of less than 0.1%. These coatings can also be used as a binder to allow unique fillers to be added and carried along with the silicone coating onto a surface or substrate.
If you have any questions about ice-phobic materials or any of our products and services, please contact us at +33 4 92 96 93 31 or email nusil.sophia@nusil.com
To register for Polymers in Defence visit www.polymerconferences.com