www.rdmag.com December 2016 R&DMagazine 29
NASA LANGLEY RESEARCH CENTER
Surface-Engineered Epoxy Composite
Coatings for Aeronautic Environments
This Contaminant Adhesion Mitigating Epoxy Composite Coatings
for Aeronautic Environments is a copolymeric epoxy coating
that is loaded with a fluorinated aliphatic chemical species and
nano- to microscale particle fillers. The coating was developed as a
hydrophobic and non-wetting coating for aerodynamic surfaces to
prevent accumulation of insect strike remains that can lead to natural
laminar flow disruption and aerodynamic inefficiencies. The coating
achieves hydrophobicity in two ways. First, the fluorinated aliphatic
chemical species are hydrophobic surface modification additives that
preferentially migrate to the polymer surface that is exposed to air.
Secondly, the incorporation of particle fillers produces a micro-textured
surface that displays excellent resistance to wetting. Combined, these
two factors increase hydrophobicity and can also be used to readily
generate superhydrophobic surfaces.
◗ www.nasa.gov/langley
GENERAL MOTORS RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
Remote Laser Welding System
Zinc-coated steels provide excellent corrosion resistance and improved
formability, which are widely used in the automotive industry. The
challenges for application of zinc-coated steels are the corresponding
welding issues. The common way they’re used in the automotive industry
is resistance spot welding (RSW). When RSW of the zinc coated steels
are in place, the selection of the weld guns and electrodes are dependent
on the materials gauges and grades. The Direct Remote Laser Welding
Process and System is a remote
laser welding system that
produces high-integrity welds in
coated steels, such as zinc coated
steels rapidly, by translating
the laser beam on the fly with
specific beam travel patterns in
order to produce the welds with
different shapes such as spot,
stich, oval or staple. Compared
to RSW, laser welding is a single-sided process. However, it is a
significant challenge to laser weld zinc coated steels in zero-gap lap joint
configuration. The highly-pressurized zinc vapor is produced during the
welding process because the zinc has lower boiling point (906 Celsius
degree) than the melting point of steel (more than 1300 Celsius degree).
◗ www.gm.com
FLSMIDTH USA INC.
Metal Process Technology
The upper layers of copper ore deposits are easily processed using
hydrometallurgical leach technology, in tandem with solvent extraction
and electrowinning to produce high-purity copper metal (i.e.,
99.99+ percent) for use in a wide variety of electrical & electronics
applications. The most abundant copper mineral, however, is
chalcopyrite—a refractory semi-conductor mineral that is found deeper
in the mine. Consequently,
hydrometallurgical copper
producers struggle to
maintain metal production
during the later stages of
mine development. While
existing hydrometallurgical
processes are able to recover
up to 95 percent of copper from certain refractory minerals, these
processes are complicated, energy intensive and slow. The FLSmidth ROL
Process technology enables the leaching of 97 to 99 percent of copper
from mineral concentrates containing as little as 5 percent copper in less
than six hours; a faster and much more simple process that saves energy
and significantly improves sustainability of existing mines. The process
technology enables current producers to remain productive, thereby
extending natural resources, jobs and utilization of existing processing
infrastructure. In addition to primary metal production, the process
technology more efficiently recovers metals from waste recycle streams.
◗ www.flsmidth.com
BLACKTRACE HOLDINGS LTD.
Fabricating Prototypes in an
Efficient, Cost-Effective Way
Fabrication techniques in the fluidic/microfluidic
industry are too slow and expensive for a
prototyping approach. There is a clear market
need for a device able to fabricate prototypes in
an efficient, cost-effective manner. The Fluidic
Factory is the first commercially available 3D
printer able to reliably fabricate custom-made
fluidically sealed devices. This is done in an
extremely fast, user-friendly manner. Unlike any other 3D printer on the
market, Fluidic Factory has been custom designed from scratch with the
aim of ensuring the production of milli- and micro- fluidic devices able to
contain fluidically sealed features. All other 3D printers focus on creating
well-defined external shapes and give secondary importance to inner
parts. Contrarily, the Fluidic Factory gives primary importance to inner
features and ensures that any embedded channel is fluidically sealed.
◗ www.blacktrace.com
LAWRENCE LIVERMORE NATIONAL LABORATORY
Fabricating Freestanding Polymer Films
Polyelectrolyte Enabled Liftoff (PEEL) is a technology used to
fabricate freestanding polymer films as thin as 10 nanometers that
are capable of bearing loads ranging from milligrams to grams and
deformations of up to 40 percent. PEEL employs robust, water-based
and self-optimizing surface chemistry to fabricate ultrathin films up to
100 square centimeters or more in area. The process is easily scalable in
size and manufacturing quantity and applicable to a variety of polymeric
materials. PEEL provides an alternative to membrane manufacturing
processes like interfacial polymerization, accessing thicknesses and
areas that are not accessible by current technologies and may be used to
fabricate freestanding polymer films for sensing, catalysis, filtration and
wound-healing applications. The process
is already in daily use at the National
Ignition Facility, a national security and
energy research facility, where it is used
to fabricate compliant load-bearing
polyvinyl formal membranes that capture
and center the hollow fuel spheres used as
laser targets.
◗ www.llnl.gov
100 Process/Prototyping