LUNA INNOVATIONS INCORPORATED — Department of Defense SBIR Phase I: In the aviation industry, direct annual corrosion costs are estimated to be $2.2 billion,

Description

In the aviation industry, direct annual corrosion costs are estimated to be $2.2 billion, with $1.7 billion allocated to corrosion maintenance and $0.3 billion to downtime. Since exterior coatings are the first line of defense against corrosion, ground crews spend a large proportion of their time inspecting, documenting and repairing coating damage. A coating that can autonomously repair damaged areas would improve operational efficiency. For the F35 application, the coating requires thermal stability (-65 to 400oF), environmental and chemical durability, minimal weight, and low cost. Luna"s solution will build off of our experience in self healing material encapsulation, corrosion resistant paint formulation, and coating validation. Luna will utilize its polymer chemistry expertise to develop a thermally stable, self healing system using microencapsulation techniques resulting in an inexpensive, scalable product that have proven shear and spray stability. This paint formulation will be an environmentally friendly, waterborne, chrome-free coating that has shown improved corrosion resistance in accelerated and outdoor testing. Luna has the additional ability to create multifunctional coatings providing visual indication of the self heaing performance and additional corrosion protection. The technology developed on this program will decrease life cycle costs, reduce maintenance, and increase readiness by limiting equipment down-time.