LUNA INNOVATIONS INCORPORATED — Department of Defense SBIR Phase II: AF182-094

Description

Conductive coatings are used on aircraft structures to control electrostatic discharge and provide lightning strike protection. Electrical contact of these conductive materials with alloy components creates the potential for significant corrosion. Standard silver-filled conductive paints are very costly and a large maintenance burden when they need to be removed and replaced. Additionally, polyurethane-based systems can suffer inconsistent performance that is dependent on environmental cure variabilities as well exposures after cure to environmental conditions such as heat, humidity, low temperatures, and fluids. There is a need to develop new, affordable, durable and corrosion resistant conductive coatings to replace legacy silver paints. To address this need, Luna has developed a next-generation corrosion protective and cost-efficient conductive coating for complex mixed material aircraft structures. Luna’s approach utilized a unique, durable and flexible polymer resin formulated with high aspect ratio lightweight conductive additives that were surface treated for enhanced corrosion protection. By combining novel electrical materials and surface treatments with an environmentally durable polymer resin, Luna’s coating provides enhanced levels of performance in terms of flexibility. The coating is applicable to aluminum and composite substrates, and has been designed to be used with existing aircraft primers and topcoat systems.