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Overview
The mission of the Advanced Materials & Processing Branch is to develop the technology on high-temperature/high-performance materials for aerospace applications. The facilities consist of areas devoted towards resin synthesis and characterization and adhesive and composite fabrication and testing. Experimental monomers and resins are synthesized in the seven state-of-the art two-man laboratories. Other equipment includes several high temperature air and inert atmosphere ovens, vacuum ovens, and high-pressure hydrogenation and filtration apparatus. New monomers are characterized by spectral and thermal methods. New resins are characterized for solution and thermal properties, melt viscosity, unoriented thin film properties and as neat resin moldings. Characterization and testing equipment include dynamic/isothermal thermogravimetric analysis, differential scanning calorimeter, differential thermal analysis, dynamic mechanical analysis, thermo-mechanical analysis, gel permeation chromatography, LC/mass spectroscopy, infrared spectroscopy, UV/vis spectrophotometer, melt rheometer, and instrons following the appropriate ASTM testing procedures. Composites are fabricated from either solution-coated prepreg prepared on a state-of-the art prepregger or by advanced tow placement from dry carbon fiber/resin tape. The composite panels are subsequently c-scanned, cut into the proper test specimen geometry's, and tested on instrons following the appropriate ASTM testing procedures.
A laboratory devoted to the development of high performance electroactive polymers has also been established. The capability of this facility includes both conventional electric field poling and corona poling stations; a Rheovibron system for characterizing electromechanical properties of polymer films; and an impedance network analyzer to measure dielectric and resonance properties of polymers. |
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