Military aircraft landing gear are subject to foreign object debris (FOD) and corrosion damage. FOD kicked up during take off and landing damages the protective coating and the resulting defects allow the corrosion-susceptible high-strength steel to corrode readily, especially in coastal environments or areas where deicing salts are used. DACCO SCI, INC., and the Zatorski Coating Company propose thermally sprayed polymeric coatings using a greatly improved application device. The device utilizes an electrically heated compressed air stream or inert gas stream flowing into a chamber where powder is mixed with a portion of the gas. This mixture and re-mainder of the heated gas is injected into a nozzle that is directed onto the substrate to produce a coating. This device has demonstrated ability to apply coatings of engineering plastics without burning and little or no degradation of engineering properties and is a marked improvement over other State of the Art thermal spray devices applying plastics. It uses no combustible gases and hence is safer than conventional units. Also, because the gas stream will not burn any existing plastic, repair of coatings is simplified.
Benefits: In addition to military landing gear, such as that for the C-17, the thermally sprayed polymeric coating would be suitable for commercial aircraft. Bridges and other infrastructure are dual-use examples where impact resistant, corrosion protective coatings are needed.
Keywords: landing gear, impact resistance, corrosion, protection, thermal spray coatings, impact damage, coatings, foreign object debris
