Realistic Test Methods for Aircraft Outer Mold Line Treatment Materials

ABSTRACT: The goal of the Air Force program is to demonstrate custom test fixture(s), test methodology, and data collection protocol on COTS or otherwise available materials under ambient conditions. NanoSonic proposes to develop a repeatable and accurate test fixture, testing methodology, and data collection protocol to assess the durability of outer mold line treatment stack-ups applied to external joints of a high performance fighter and/or bomber aircraft. This will also utilize NanoSonic"s non-invasive nanostructured Metal Rubber sensor to detect damage (such as disbonds, delamination, and fiber breakage) in aircraft structural composites during testing. The damage detection system will be comprised of an array of NanoSonic"s self-assembled Metal Rubber sensors. This will be accomplished by applying our current Metal Rubber sensor technology in a non-invasive damage detection sensor system comprised of Metal Rubber sensor skins to detect mechanical degradation of composite aircraft structures under test scenarios. The overall objective is to develop a method of characterizing the qualified materials currently on platforms and prevent future materials from being qualified that have flaws not previously caught thus increasing aircraft up-time. BENEFIT: The proposed SBIR program would develop Metal Rubber sensor skin elements and arrays for the NDE/SHM of advanced aerospace composite materials and advance the current testing methodologies to a more representative state. Such sensor skins build directly on the development of Metal Rubber materials, and its modification and application to a number of different engineering problems. Due to its unique combined properties, Metal Rubber can be envisioned for use in a number of aerospace, electronics and biomedical systems. Important to the proposed program, and important to NanoSonic"s ability to build a commercialization plan around its Metal Rubber"family"of materials, is our ability to modify the properties of the material in order to meet specific design objectives. The ability to design and synthesize a wide range of polymers, and to co-process a similarly large range of nanoclusters in the material, opens up a large potential market area. Conceptually similar but functionally different nanocomposites are also being developed for other applications by NanoSonic based on our Metal Rubber Family of materials, in the electronics, aerospace and defense and biomedical engineering areas. Metal Rubber based materials and textiles are available for sale through our website pictured right, www.nanosonic.com, in limited sizes and shapes and with a limited number of properties; and in scaled amounts with custom properties tailored for each customer via contracting.