Plasma polymerization technology has been used to apply abrasion-resistant coatings to large-area plastic windows. The windows and protective coatings were part of the V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft development program. The material selected for the plasma processing was an organosilicon monomer which when polymerized under glow discharge conditions produced a protective silica-like coating. This protective coating was applied in a prototype production scale plasma polymerization system. Processing techniques and equipment were developed to monitor and control the coating process. Development of specialized software was undertaken which could integrte process information from a data acquisition system. Diagnostic techniques permitted real time monitoring of the following parameters: partial pressure analysis of the glow discharge gas chemistry, polymerization rate, plasma power and bias voltage, monomer mass flow, and optical transmission determination for the windows at all stages of the process. Fourier analysis methods were used to separate the combined optical interference signals resulting from coating simultaneously both sides an Osprey window. The coatings were evaluated under accelerated weathering conditions and tested for abrasion, solvent and chemical resistance. The 2-year program resulted in over 350 windows being coated. This paper discusses the challenges faced in scaling plasma polymerization technology to meet a production-size coating application.
Meter square plastic windows coated by plasma polymerization
Durch Plasmapolymerisation beschichtete quadratmetergroße Kunststoffenster
1992
6 Seiten, 2 Bilder, 11 Quellen
Aufsatz (Konferenz)
Englisch
Considerations for Plastic Abrasion Resistant Coated Windows for the Automotive Industry
SAE Technical Papers | 1993
|Consideration for plastic abrasion resistant coated windows for the automotive industry
Kraftfahrwesen | 1993
|Engineering Index Backfile | 1958