REFORMING RADIO FREQUENCY DOOR GASKETS

THE ARMY IS USING WIRE MESH COVERED ELASTOMERIC CORE GASKET FOR SHIELDING DOORS SUBJECTED TO EM RADIATION. ALTHOUGH SHIELDING EFFECTIVENESS MEETS SPECIFICATIONS WHEN THE GASKETS ARE NEW, THEY LOSE THEIR EFFECTIVENESS IN A FEW MONTHS. THIS LOSS IS DUE TO "GASKET SET" OF THE ELASTOMERIC CORE. IT IS PROPOSED TO DEVELOP A NEW GASKET WITH A PRESSURIZED HOLLOW CORE THAT SERVES TO COMPENSATE FOR THE GASKET SET. IN THIS PHASE I WORK IT IS PROPOSED TO CHARACTERIZE THE PROPERTIES OF THE CURRENT GASKET, DEVISE A DESIGN FOR A HOLLOW CORE GASKET USING COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE MATERIALS. A CONCEPTUAL DESIGN WILL BE PREPARED FOR A PRACTICAL, MANUALLY POWERED PRESSURIZING SYSTEM. ACCELERATED AGING TESTS WILL VERIFY THE PROPERTIES OF THE GASKET ELASTOMERIC MATERIALS. FINALLY, A PROTOTYPE GASKET WILL BE DESIGNED, FABRICATED AND TESTED IN A SIMULATION OF USE IN A RF SHIELDED DOOR. IT WILL ALSO BE SUBJECTED TO AN ACCELERATED AGING TEST TO VERIFY THAT THE DESIGN IS FEASIBLE. CONCEPTUAL DESIGNS OF A FULL SCALE GASKET AND PRESSURIZING SYSTEM WILL ALSO BE PREPARED.