Bayer MaterialScience Helps United States Air Force Take Flight with UV-Curable Coating Technology
Pittsburgh, February 16, 2009 - The innovative use of technology from Bayer MaterialScience, LLC that "eliminates a bottleneck" in the paint hanger required by United States Air Force (USAF) aircraft will be the focus of a presentation by two Bayer MaterialScience scientists at RadTech UV/EB West. The conference takes place February 17-18 at the Sheraton Gateway Hotel, LAX, in Los Angeles. The presentation will be given February 18 at the UV/EB Technology for Aerospace and Defense Applications session by Mike Dvorchak, strategic technology manager, UV cure oligomers and PUDs government programs and Chuck Gambino, research and development specialist, Bayer MaterialScience LLC.
Typically, the USAF uses coating systems for painting aircraft and support equipment that require a minimum of 72 hours of cure time before an aircraft can be flown. To comply with USAF technical orders, this cure time also applies to the coatings used for stencils and markings - tail number, American Flag emblems and "U.S. Air Force" markings, for example - that are applied over the topcoat. These markings are the last coatings to be applied, and therefore, complying with the 72-hour 'dry to fly' requirement results in many hours of down-time for each aircraft that is repainted each year. This, in turn, can potentially translate into reduced mission readiness.
Now, there is a better alternative. A UV-curable coating for markings that adheres to military specification for topcoats (adhesion, weathering, fluid resistance and flexibility) and fully cures in minutes has been developed by a collaboration that includes the USAF, H&S Autoshot, Deft Inc. and Bayer MaterialScience. Bayer MaterialScience is a leader in UV coatings technology, offering a broad portfolio of radiation-curing coatings materials, including Bayhydrol® UV and Desmolux® coating raw materials.
The presentation features demonstrations of the product, including a first-of-its-kind demonstration, application of the coating to an Air National Guard F-16 stationed in Iowa in December 2007. For this innovative use of the UV-curable coating technology, the USAF and its team received an Emerging Technology Award last year by the Association for UV (ultraviolet) and EB (electron beam) Technology at RadTech, the group's biennial conference held earlier this year in Chicago.
The technology is also demonstrated in use on a C-130 911 Airlift Wing in Pittsburgh in April 2008. The coating was applied by Deft Inc., one of the leading suppliers of coating systems for the aerospace and industrial markets. A few months later, in April 2008, Deft applied the one-component coating system - which requires no measuring or mixing for it to cure - to C130 aircraft from the Air National Guard 911th Airlift Wing, based in Pittsburgh.
According to Randy Brady, director of sales & marketing, Deft, Bayer MaterialScience is taking an active role in this project, working with Deft chemists to develop formulations that can best meet the challenges of this high-flying application.
"Bayer has been outstanding in their support of this program and our chemists," said Brady, adding that Deft is now looking to expand the program, applying UV-curable coating technology to Coast Guard aircraft.
"These two successful demonstrations for the U.S. Air Force prove the feasibility of this technology for aerospace applications," said Dvorchak, who notes that this technology is already proven in the automotive refinish industry. "But this is really just the tip of the iceberg."
According to Dvorchak, in the future, this coating technology may be utilized as primers and topcoats for painting an entire aircraft. "Waiting for paint to dry is inefficient and costly. Both the military and civilian world would realize cost and time savings by adopting UV-curable coating technology," he explained.
Bayer MaterialScience LLC is one of the leading producers of polymers and high-performance plastics in North America and is part of the global Bayer MaterialScience business with nearly 15,400 employees at 30 sites around the world and 2007 sales of 10.4 billion euros. Business activities are focused on the manufacture of high-tech polymer materials and the development of innovative solutions for products used in many areas of daily life. The main segments served are the automotive, electrical and electronics, construction, medical, and sports and leisure industries. Our inorganic basic chemicals unit produces chlorine and related essential products for the chemicals industry.
Bayer Corporation, headquartered in Pittsburgh, is a subsidiary of Bayer AG, an international health care, nutrition and high-tech materials group based in Leverkusen, Germany. In North America, Bayer had 2007 net sales of 8.1 billion euros and employed 16,800 at year end. Bayer's three subgroups, Bayer HealthCare, Bayer CropScience and Bayer MaterialScience, improve people's lives through a broad range of essential products that help diagnose, prevent and treat diseases; protect crops and enhance yields; and advance automobile safety and durability.
Contact:
Bill Allan, Phone: 412-777-5200
E-mail: bill.allan@bayerBayer MaterialScience.com
For more information about UV-curable coatings technologies or other products from Bayer MaterialScience, call 1-800-662-2927, e-mail naftainfo@bayerbms.com or visit www.bayermaterialsciencenafta.com.
