Breathable Release Coatings for Ceramic Tooling

The main objective of this Phase I program will be to develop a release coating for use with ceramic tooling that will be capable of withstanding cure temperatures in excess of 700F and will have high solvent vapor permeability. The main approach will be to formulate a high temperature film forming silicone resin system by investigating improvements of silicone resins that will be modified with phenyl siloxanes, fluoropolymers, and polyimides. UDC will demonstrate the feasibility of a release coating capable of providing both release and volatile removal for solvent based advanced composite materials which process at temperatures up to 750F. UDC will evaluate the candidate material's resistance to thermal shock and its adhesion to castable ceramic tools. Additional tests will be conducted to evaluate permeability of the release coating materials. At the end of Phase I, we will provide a detailed report that will include all work performed, resultant data, a Phase II plan, schedule and cost estimate.