WATERBORNE POLYURETHANE BINDER RESINS FOR COMPLIANT, NON-AEROSOL AIRCRAFT COATINGS

ALIPHATIC POLYURETHANE RESINS HAVE BECOME THE PREDOMINANT TECHNOLOGY FOR MILITARY AIRCRAFT COATINGS DUE TO THEIR SUPERIOR WEATHER AND CHEMICAL RESISTANCE, DURABILITY, AND FLEXIBILITY. THEIR APPLICATION, HOWEVER, FREQUENTLY REQUIRES SIGNIFICANT DILUTION WITH VOLATILE ORGANIC SOLVENTS. THE USE OF SUCH SOLVENTS IS BECOMING SEVERELY RESTRICTEDDUE TO ENVIRONMENTAL AND WORKER SAFETY CONCERNS. A METHOD FOR PREPARING A HIGH PERFORMANCE WATERBORNE BINDER SYSTEM FOR AIRCRAFT TOPCOATS IS PROPOSED WHICH CAN SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCE THE NEED FOR VOLATILE ORGANIC SOLVENTS IN THEIR APPLICATION. THE PROPOSED RESEARCH EXPLORESTHE FEASIBILITY OF CHEMICALLY MODIFYING CONVENTIONAL POLYURETHANE RESINS FOR WATER DISPERSION AND CURE VIA A UNIQUE CROSSLINKING MECHANISM. THE ULTIMATE OBJECTIVE OF THE PROGRAM IS TO DEVELOP A COATING SYSTEM CAPABLE OF BEING APPLIED FROM A NON-AEROSOL CONTAINER WITH THE HANDLING CHARACTERISTICS, SHELF STABILITY AND CURED PROPERTIES OF CONVENTIONAL POLYURETHANE-BASED TOPCOATS, BUT WITH MUCH LOWER LEVELS OF VOLATILE ORGANIC COMPOUNDS.