THE DEVELOPMENT OF A POLYMER LAMINATE WITH WATER AND OXYGEN BARRIER PROPERTIES SUITABLE FOR FOOD PACKAGING…

Public award description

THE DEVELOPMENT OF A POLYMER LAMINATE WITH WATER AND OXYGEN BARRIER PROPERTIES SUITABLE FOR FOOD PACKAGING AND PRESERVATION ON 3-5 YEAR MANNED SPACE EXPLORATION MISSIONS IS PROPOSED. THE LAMINATE IS A MULTILAYER STRUCTURE COMPRISING POLYMER AND INORGANIC DIELECTRICS THAT WILL PROVIDE NEAR-HERMETIC ENCAPSULATION OF FOOD ITEMS FOR THE DURATION OF THESE MISSIONS. IN PHASE I, FLEXIBLE POLYMER BARRIERS WITH AN OXYGEN TRANSPORT RATE OF<0.005 CC/M2-DAY AND WATER TRANSPORT RATE OF<0.005 G/M2-DAY WERE DEVELOPED. THE BARRIERS CONTAIN NO METAL FOILS, HAVE A AREAL DENSITY OF<34 G/M2 FOR A 40 MICRON THICK FILM, AND TOLERATE HIGH TEMPERATURE STERILIZATION TREATMENTS. THE POLYMER LAMINATES ARE MECHANICALLY ROBUST EXHIBITING A 165MPA YIELD STRENGTH, 200MPA TENSILE STRENGTH, 550MPA TENSILE MODULUS, AND 3% ELONGATION TO YIELD. IN PHASE II, WE PROPOSE TO OPTIMIZE BARRIER PROPERTIES TO REDUCE WEIGHT, MINIMIZE ASH ON INCINERATION, DEVELOP HEAT-SEALING METHODS, AND EXPAND THE TESTING TO INCLUDE HEAT SEALED ENCLOSURES. THE PHASE II EFFORT ALSO INCLUDES A COLLABORATION WITH A POTENTIAL HIGH-VOLUME MANUFACTURER OF THE BARRIER FILMS FOR AEROSPACE APPLICATIONS.