LUNA INNOVATIONS INCORPORATED — Department of Defense SBIR Phase I: N182-103

Description

Navy aircraft possess highly sophisticated windshields and window materials that enable superior performance and visibility for pilots and mission operators. Windshields on the V-22 tiltrotor aircraft have recently been found to be susceptible to failure due to burnout of the embedded conductive heater layer. The transparent metallic heater layer is designed to enable deicing via electric/resistive warming of the windshield surface. Initial observations of the heater failure suggest that the mechanical rigors of flight (vibration, flexing) are causing physical strain on the heater layer which leads to fracture and eventual burnout. Replacement of these failed windshields incurs a significant cost in materials, labor and downtime for the aircraft. The ideal solution would be to improve the flexibility and toughness of the heating layer without sacrificing optical performance. Researchers at Luna have recently developed resistive heaters based carbon nanotubes (CNT) for use as flexible film heaters in composite fabrication and repair applications. In this proposed Phase I SBIR program, Luna will develop a prototype heater film compatible with V-22 windshields that will enable rapid, controlled deicing capability without sacrificing optical performance in the visible and near-IR.