Thermoreactive Aircraft Coatings (TRAC) Program.
Abstract
A Thermoreactive Aircraft Coatings (TRAC) system has been developed which, when used in place of conventional paint, provides aircraft or other weapon systems with the thermal hardness benefits of a white coating while retaining a dark camouflage color under benign conditions. The TRAC system, which can be applied by conventional spray techniques, consists of a white, heat reflective primer top-coated with a passively reactive, thermally activated coating which reversibly changes from dark grey to white upon exposure to radiant thermal flux. The effectiveness of the TRAC system was demonstrated through tests of white, grey, black and TRAC coated test samples constructed from composite/honeycomb sandwich material, simulating aircraft skin, which were subjected to combined radiant thermal energy exposure and simultaneous mechanical loading. Test results indicated that, compared to comparably painted grey samples, TRAC provided up to a 443% improvement in thermal hardness, and was up to 98% as effective as gloss white paint in protecting the composite substrate from damage induced by radiant thermal energy exposure. jg
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 01, 1995
- Accession Number
- ADA292054
Entities
People
- Deborah E. Bielecka
- Kurt E. Jechel