Abstract
Recently developed epoxy paste adhesives were electron beam cured and experimentally explored to determine their suitability for use in an aerospace-quality aircraft component. There were two major goals for this program. The first was to determine whether the electron beam-curable paste adhesives were capable of meeting the requirements of the U.S. Air Force T-38 supersonic jet trainer's composite windshield frame. The T-38 windshield frame's arch is currently manufactured by bonding thin stainless steel plies using an aerospace-grade thermally-cured epoxy film adhesive. The second goal was to develop the lowest cost hand layup and debulk process that could be used to produce laminated steel plies with acceptable properties. The laminate properties examined to determine adhesive suitability include laminate mechanical and physical properties at room, adhesive tack, out-time capability, and the debulk requirements needed to achieve these properties. Eighteen paste adhesives and four scrim cloths were experimentally examined using this criteria. One paste adhesive was found to have suitable characteristics in each of these categories and was later chosen for the manufacture of the T-38 windshield frame. This experimental study shows that by using low-cost debulk and layup processes, the electron beam-cured paste adhesive mechanical and physical properties meet the specifications of the T-38 composite windshield frame.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1639-1646 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | International SAMPE Symposium and Exhibition (Proceedings) |
| Volume | 43 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| State | Published - 1998 |
| Externally published | Yes |
| Event | Proceedings of the 1998 43rd International SAMPE Symposium and Exhibition. Part 2 (of 2) - Anaheim, CA, USA Duration: May 31 1998 → Jun 4 1998 |