AEROSPACE HIGH TEMPERATURE WIRE INSULATION

FOSTER-MILLER PROPOSES TO EVALUATE A SERIES OF NEW HIGH TEMPERATURE (OVER 250OC) MATERIALS AND IDENTIFY THE MOST PROMISING MATERIALS FOR USE IN AEROSPACE WIRE INSULATION. WE HAVE ASSEMBLED A UNIQUELY QUALIFIED TEAM TO ACCOMPLISH OUR GOAL. WE HAVE TEAMED WITH TRW TO UNDERSTAND THE USE REQUIREMENTS AND WE WILL SURVEY WIRE AND CABLE MANUFACTURERS TO ADDRESS THE COST AND PRODUCTION CONCERNS. FUTURE AIRCRAFT AND SPACE SYSTEMS WILL OPERATE AT HIGHER VOLTAGES OVER WIDER TEMPERATURE RANGES, MAKING TODAY'S INSULATION MATERIALS INADEQUATE. NEW MATERIALS TO BE EVALUATED ON THIS PROGRAM WILL HAVE BETTER RESISTANCE TO ARC PROPAGATION, ABRASION RESISTANCE, MECHANICAL AND ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES AT HIGH AND LOW TEMPERATURE, FLUID RESISTANCE, AND :DURABILITY. PHASE I WILL USE A SYSTEMATIC APPROACH TO SELECT THE BEST MATERIALS WITHOUT BIAS BY MEANS OF AN EVALUATION MATRIX WITH WEIGHTED COEFFICIENTS OR EACH KEY PERFORMANCE PARAMETER. EACH CANDIDATE MATERIAL WILL BE SCORED BY A PERFORMANCE INDEX AND THE FEASIBILITY OF OBTAINING THE MATERIAL. AT THE END OF PHASE I, WE SELECT A SMALL NUMBER OF MATERIALS WHICH OFFER THE GREATEST POTENTIAL FOR FURTHER DEVELOPMENT AND EVALUATION. IN PHASE II, WE WILL WORK WITH WIRE MANUFACTURERS AND TRW TO FABRICATE AND TEST SELECTED MATERIALS IN FLAT AND ROUND WIRE CONSTRUCTIONS. DEMONSTRATION OF A LOW COST, MANUFACTURABLE INSULATION MATERIAL CAPABLE OF OPERATING AT TEMPERATURES EXCEEDING 250OC, WILL ESTABLISH A FIRM BASIS FOR A COMMERCIAL PHASE III.