Aircraft Depainting Technology.
Abstract
Chemical paint strippers historically used for aircraft contained toxic and hazardous components; aircraft depainting operations are a major source of hazardous waste generation in DOD. Federal and state agencies have begun to restrict using these hazardous materials and Government directives require significant reductions in hazardous waste generation. The Naval Air Systems Team has partnered with the Air Force at WR-ALC in investigating mature, advanced paint removal technologies and has taken a multiprocess approach to meeting the requirements of aircraft and component stripping at various levels of maintenance. Under this program, the Navy pursued development of non-HAP chemical paint strippers as alternatives for methylene chloride based strippers. In addition, the Navy has selected the xenon flashlamp/CO2 (Flashjet(R)) process for materials testing and developed a prototype semiautomatic manipulator system incorporating the Flashjet(R) process for depainting large aircraft. As a result of extensive materials testing, NAVAIRSYSCOM authorized using the Flashjet(R) paint removal process on metallic fixed-wing aircraft surfaces. The approval process for using Flashjet(R) on fixed-wing organic composite aircraft surfaces is nearly complete. Relative life cycle costs per square foot of comparable aircraft surface were found to be favorable for Flashjet(R) paint removal compared to methylene chloride chemical stripping or plastic media blasting.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 18, 1999
- Accession Number
- ADA362188
Entities
People
- Dayle Conrad
- Gary Neumeister
- Joseph Kozol
- Stephen Spadafora
- Steven Hartle
Organizations
- Naval Air Warfare Center