Manufacturing Process Development of High-Performance Treated Honeycomb Core for Radar Absorbing Application

Present manufacturing techniques for fabricating treated honeycomb core yield material with limited performance and poor repeatability at high costs. In Phase I Patz Materials and Technologies utilized a process consisting of dispersing a conductive particulate into a resin system, impregnating that resin system onto a reinforcement and then corrugating that reinforcement into a cellular core to create a multifunctional cellular core designed to increase survivability and decrease weight. The end result was a production methodology in which the radar-absorbing characteristics of the core material will be determined and controlled before the fabrication of the core. This production methodology has the potential to yield consistent core properties and can utilize new materials in orientations unachievable through the standard dip or flow coat processes. In the second phase of the project Patz Materials and Technologies will expand upon the material from Phase I and direct it to a specific platform.