Super Varnishes for Aerospace Coatings

Organic coatings are used to protect surfaces in many prominent industries such as automotive and aerospace. The industrial partner has found it imperative to develop their varnish for aircraft interiors in-house. They have identified a super varnish that must have exceptional resistance to cracking, prevention of shrinkage and adhesion to wood substrates (grouped herein as material properties). Secondary “must-have” properties are non-flammability, self-healing characteristics and greener processes. Flammability resistance is critical in airplane parts; thus lowering of flammability via reduction of volatile organic content (VOC) or the use of additives is key. Reduction of VOC lends itself to greener processes (eg. water-borne coatings) such as suspension or emulsion polymerization. Also, low viscosity coating solutions that are afforded by our chemistry allows less solvent to be used, thereby reducing VOC. This proposal aims to use copolymers incorporating various functionalities to improve adhesion via controlled radical polymerization as the coating resin.

Faculty Supervisor:

Milan Maric

Student:

Faezeh Hajiali

Partner:

C&D Aerospace Canada Co

Discipline:

Engineering - chemical / biological

Sector:

Aerospace and defense

University:

Program: