Hydraulic Seal Replacement

"Improved hydraulic seals are required by the US Navy to prevent primary and collateral damage to aircraft systems equal to $200,000,000 per year. When the currently used nitrile rubber hydraulic seals loose elasticity and leak, aircraft components dry up,seize and can catch fire. When the leak goes unnoticed, corrosive fluids are released that cause damage to electronic and other components in the aircraft. In this Phase I SBIR, Science Research Lab and partners Raytheon, Technically, Inc. and theUniversity of Massachusetts at Lowell will develop replacement seals that will have an operational range of -90¿F to +350¿F. These materials will exhibit minimal variation in tensile properties over the same temperature range, abrasion resistance, tearingresistance, excellent heat aging and metal adhesion. The seal materials will be based upon polyphosphazene fluoroelastomers and state of the art rubber compounding ingredients to meet all the property and processing requirements for the hydraulic sealapplication. The development of a new, durable, long-life seal can be directly applied to all military and commercial aviation worldwide. The material envisioned can be used in gaskets, diaphragms, hoses, shock mounts, foams, coatings, and electricalapplications in industrial, automotive, ship and space programs. Its demonstrated properties will make the elastomer a candidate in biomedical applications and devices, including the fabrication