NANOSTRUCTURE COATED PBO (ZYLON) FIBERS FOR LIGHTWEIGHT AND HIGH-STRENGTH STRATOSPHERIC APPLICATIONS

The idea of airships to have blimps carry heavy loads into remote areas, has been discussed for years in Canada. Such a futuristic concept has recently been brought into reality by Sceye Inc. which created a new class of airship capable of flying the unchartered stratosphere. However, Zylon (PBO) fibers, the main component of airship envelope, typically suffer from environmental degradation when exposed to high humidity, ultraviolet (UV), and ozone in the harsh operation environment. The proposed project aims to leverage graphene oxide as the coating material to create a protective layer on PBO fibers. Environmentally-controlled micro-tensile testing will be combined with chemical and structural characterization to reveal PBO environmental degradation mechanisms. The expected findings will guide the design of lightweight GO coated PBO fibers with high strength, stiffness, and resistance to environmental degradation, eventually improving the long endurance flight performance of airships.

Faculty Supervisor:

Tobin Filleter

Student:

Guorui Wang

Partner:

Sceye Inc

Discipline:

Engineering - mechanical

Sector:

Professional, scientific and technical services

University:

University of Toronto