Signaling its interest in adding to its portfolio of high-performance protection materials, DuPont has invested in a company that makes one of the composite materials on the Juno spacecraft. Nanocomp Technologies manufactures the carbon nanotube-based sheet material EMSHIELD, which protects the Jupiter-bound craft against ESD.
As we've reported previously, Juno incorporates a different composite material made by SGL Group, which forms an optical bench at the end of one of the craft's solar array wings. The carbon fiber-reinforced ceramic composite bench, mounted on a stable magnetometer boom, holds the magnetometer that will measure Jupiter's magnetic field.
DuPont has invested in Nanocomp Technologies, which makes carbon nanotube-based composite sheet roll material used for ESD protection on the Juno spacecraft. (Source: Nanocomp Technologies)
The Nanocomp Technologies CNT material forms a surface layer on some critical components of the flight system's attitude control motor struts and the main engine housing. It's an alternative to the aluminum foil typically used for ESD protection, which is bonded to the surface of composite components. Instead, Nanocomp's sheet material was added in layers during fabrication of the composites it protects, integrating it directly into the spacecraft components' structure.
DuPont purchased a minority share in Nanocomp and agreed to acquire the assets of BAE Systems Tensylon High Performance Materials, a manufacturer of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene tapes that provide strong and lightweight armor solutions. DuPont expects to combine the new technologies from Tensylon with DuPont Protection Technologies' Kevlar technologies to develop materials that improve the performance, durability, and strength of helmets, body armor, and vehicle armor. The Tensylon technology platform will also enable new materials for ropes and cables for offshore oil and gas platforms.
Nanocomp and DuPont will co-develop products that use Nanocomp's CNT sheet and yarn materials and DuPont Protection Technologies' materials for ballistic, panel, and core structures for military, law enforcement, and industrial applications, such as lightweight, honeycomb-type structures for aerospace. DuPont says its goal is to offer products with superior lightweight strength, combined with properties such as electrical conductivity.
The CNT yarns have been fatigue-tested against copper in bending tests for fracture toughness. The company says its yarns last almost 2.5 million cycles, whereas copper breaks after nearly 14,000 bends.
Nanocomp will use the funding to expand its manufacturing capacity. NASA and the Department of Defense use the company's CNT yarn and sheet materials in advanced components in several programs. Other applications for the electrical, structural, and thermal performance characteristics of Nanocomp's materials range from data transmission cables to armor and honeycomb core structures.
Ann, these are really interesting advances in composite materials. They are driven, of course, by the aerospace and defense industries. There are lots of other industries where these materials could be really useful, but they are generally conservative in their engineering.
Hopefully the legwork and advances pioneered in the A&D and government sector can translate back to other industry segments. Cross-pollination of research and technology is the key to making some of these new composite innovations more mainstream.
I agree, this is a case where R&D for military and space apps is potentially extendable to other areas, such as industrial and commercial aircraft uses. One of the most critical factors in that extension is expanding manufacturing capacity and tailoring it to the needs of high-volume production, which is a very different animal from the production of smaller quantities for military use.
Inspired by the hooks a parasitic worm uses to penetrate its host's intestines, the Karp Lab has invented a flexible adhesive patch covered with microneedles that adheres well to wet, soft tissues, but doesn't cause damage when removed.
Engineers at the University of California, San Diego are designing a robotic arm that takes inspiration from the loose, flexible, yet very strong structure of the armored plates on a seahorse's tail.
Researchers at the Missouri University of Science & Technology have designed a new nanoscale material that can transmit light faster than the 186,000 miles per second it usually takes to travel through air.
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