Atmospheric Plasma Removal of Airfield Paint Markings and Aircraft Tire Rubber Build-up from Installed AM2 Mat Surfaces

While the benefits of utilizing of Expeditionary Airfields (EAFs) by the US military are numerous, there are several challenges regarding maintenance for which there is currently no suitable solution, such as the removal of unwanted paint markings from a previous airfield installation or tire rubber build-up which can adversely impact the nonskid performance. There is an urgent need for a process which can remove these unwanted materials while leaving the AM2 mat in place. Atmospheric Plasma Solutions, Inc. (APS) has developed a revolutionary Atmospheric Plasma Coating Removal technology (APCR) that can effectively remove paint and other organic materials from a wide variety of substrates using only air and electricity by producing a cold, atmospheric pressure plasma, which chemically converts the organic surface contaminants into CO2, water vapor, and inorganic particulates. APS proposes to adapt APCR technology to remove marking paint and rubber build-up from AM2 Mat material. This proposed effort will focus on development of a conceptual design of this application, demonstrating the feasibility of the approach, and ensuring the ability of the APCR process to meet stated DoD requirements. This effort will also lay the groundwork for subsequent scale-up of the process and further engineering development.