Process for in-mold coating of composite aircraft components
AssigneeEmbraer S.A.
InventorsRogério de Almeida Silva, Edson da Silva Barbosa, João Paulo de Araujo Santana
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Abstract
Processes for forming fiber reinforced composite aircraft components, i.e., aircraft components formed of a cured fiber-reinforced resin, are provided. According to specific embodiments, a finished surface of the composite aircraft component can be achieved by providing in-mold coating of the cured fiber-reinforced resin by a dried and cured film layer of a water-based primer paint material to thereby achieve a composite aircraft component having an exterior surface that does not necessarily require further finishing.
Claims11
A process for making a fiber-reinforced composite aircraft component having a finished exterior surface formed of a pre-cured primer coating, wherein the process comprises the steps of:
- (a) providing a contoured mold defining an interior mold surface;
- (b) spraying a water-based epoxy primer paint material onto an interior mold surface to form a coating layer of the water-based epoxy primer paint material on the interior mold surface;
- (c) precuring the coating layer to thereby form a precured film layer of the primer paint material on the interior mold surface by:
- (c1) allowing the water to evaporate from the coating layer of the water-based primer paint material at room temperature of between about 20° C. to about 25° C. during an initial flash off time period sufficient to form a dried layer of the water-based primer paint material;
- and thereafter
- (c2) exposing the dried layer of the water-based primer paint material during a subsequent curing time period to an elevated temperature of about 60° C. to about 70° C. to thereby form a precured film layer of primer paint material;
- (d) laying-up one or more uncured prepreg plies of fiber reinforced uncured resin on the precured film layer of the primer paint material to provide a component preform comprised of (i) the precured film layer of the primer paint material on the interior mold surface and (ii) the one or more uncured prepreg plies in contact with the precured film layer of the primer paint material;
- (e) enveloping the component preform in a vacuum bag to provide an autoclavable component preform in the mold;
- (f) placing the autoclavable component preform under vacuum within the bag into an autoclave and subjecting the autoclavable component preform in the mold while under vacuum within the vacuum bag to resin curing conditions within the autoclave at an elevated temperature condition in a range of about 180° C. (+/−10° C.) and at an elevated pressure condition in a range of about 95 psi (+/−5 psi) sufficient to cure the uncured resin in the one or more uncured prepreg plies to form cured prepreg plies and to bond the cured prepreg plies to the precured film layer of the primer paint material and thereby form the fiber-reinforced composite aircraft component;
- and
- (g) removing the fiber-reinforced composite aircraft component from the mold such that the precured film layer of the primer paint material forms a cured finished exterior surface of the fiber-reinforced composite aircraft component.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.