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AssigneeAstrium GmbH
InventorsBrigitte Defoort, Xavier Coqueret, Dominique Lacour
Estimating the term…
The invention relates to the stiffening of inflatably deployable structures, in particular for space use. More specifically, the invention relates to a flexible membrane for inflatably deployable structures, that comprises one layer of a composite and at least one polymer film that is permeable to visible radiation covering one of the faces of this layer, said composite being formed from a fibrous material impregnated with a composition incorporating an epoxide or epoxy/acrylate resin and a photoinitiator, and which is characterized in that the photoinitiator is an iron-arene complex salt of general formula (I): where A is an arene group, while X is a non-nucleophilic anion. Applications: manufacture of devices of the following types: radars, solar panels, reflectors, solar shields, antennas, solar mirrors or sails, intended to equip orbital vehicles or vehicles for space or planetary exploration.
A structure which is inflatably deployable and stiffenable after being deployed, which comprises a flexible membrane, said membrane comprising at least one layer of a composite, said layer having a first face and a second opposite face, and at least one polymer film that is permeable to visible radiation and that covers the first face of the composite layer, said composite being formed from a fibrous material impregnated with a composition including a non-polymerized epoxide or epoxy/acrylate resin and a photoinitiator for initiating the polymerization of the resin upon irradiation of the membrane with a visible radiation and thereby obtaining the stiffening of the structure, wherein the photoinitiator is an iron-arene complex salt of formula (I):
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.