ENHANCED WEAR AND CORROSION RESISTANCE OF COMPOSITES WITH LASER COATING

COMPOSITE MATERIALS USED IN SPACE STRUCTURES REQUIRE PROTECTION FROM CORROSION, OXIDATION AND WEAR. CURRRENT TECHNIQUES SUCH AS VAPOR DEPOSITION AND PLATING SUFFER MANY DRAWBACKS. PHASE I RESEARCH WILL DEVELOP A SIMPLE, RELIABLE LASER COATING TECHNIQUE TO APPLY AMORPHOUS METALLIC COATINGS ON METAL MATRIX COMPOSITES AND THEREBY PROVIDE TRIBOLOGICALLY AND ENVIRONMENTALLY EFFECTIVE SURFACES. RAPID SOLIDIFICATION EFFECTS ASSOCIATED WITH LASER PROCESSING WILL CONTROL THE AMORPHOUSNESS OF THE COATINGS. THE AMORPHOUS COATING WILL BE CHARACTERIZED WITH SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY, X-RAY DIFFRACTION AND NDE TECHNIQUES. LASER COATING OF COMPOSITES WITH AMORPHOUS MATERIALS OFFER MANY OPPORTUNITIES TO PROTECT COMPOSITE STRUCTURES. NDE TECHNIQUE WILL FACILITATE AS ON-LINE MONITORING TOOL FOR THE UNIFORMITY AND RELIABILITY OF AMORPHOUS COATINGS ON LARGE SCALE COMPOSITE STRUCTURES. THE PROCESS CAN BE APPLIED TO LIGHT WEIGHT STRUCTURES IN SPACE VEHICLES, AIRCRAFTS AND AUTOMOBILES.