Miniturized, Low-Cost, High Performance Pintle Actuationand Control jSystem for a Pintle Solid Propellant Rocket Motor

Not Available Creare proposes to use a plasma-spray process to deposit non-skid ship deck coatings. Plasma-sprayed coatings can have unique properties that are far superior to conventional coatings (paint, plating, etc.) in terms of wear and corrosion resistance. The plasma-sprayed coating would either entirely replace or be used in conjunction with more conventional paint-like coatings to achieve the desired color. The roughness of the plasma-sprayed coating would be controlled to provide the desired non-skid characteristics. The adhesion of the paint-like coating, if used, would be highly enhanced by the roughness and high corrosion resistance of the plasma-sprayed coating. Plasma spraying offers many advantages over other techniques for applying coatings, because it is inherently inexpensive, environmentally benign, easily scaled to production scenarios, and features high, easily controllable deposition rates. The approach has modest equipment and operator skill requirements and should be easily integrated with the present repair infrastructure. In Phase I, we propose to prepare and test sample coupons with various plasma-sprayed coatings to provide a basis for initial assessment of the suitability of these materials. We will also perform simulated shipboard environmental testing to assess corrosion resistance, hardness tests of the films, and abrasion tests to assess wear resistance.