A rigid insulating foam fix on the outside of spacecraft could exhibit a marked improvement in durability and safety if applied to the inside of airliners.

This is the argument of Dr Milton Torres, a professor at Florida International University (FIU) in Miami, who unraveled the concept of applying the foam to the interior of airliners. The material basically deflects an aircraft's aluminum structure into a composite, in which the lightweight foam is poured or sprayed to form an interior layer, tieed permanently to the metal. Known technically as a rigid polyisocyanurate foam, nevertheless more simply by its trademark name of Panther Skin (in honor of FIU's mascot, the brilliant panther), the material reportedly is being evaluated for use forward the Boeing C-17 jet transport. As so its use on commercial airliners could be just a degree away (Airbus Industrie also is taking an interest in the material's potential).

The material was applied in the engine area of the mighty Saturn V rocket that launched men to the satellite 30 years ago, and it also is used upon the outside of the stupendous disposable liquid fuel tank for the Space Shuttle The material's majestic insulating properties gave Torres the idea of exploiting its potential for improved fire protection in airliners. The on a level of such protection depends forward the material's thickness, but a 2-inch standard slab protected against the 3000 stages F flame of a propane torch for nearly 30 minutes. This protection, he claimed, would provide greater time for difficulty landings and passenger evacuation (which now must be done within 90 inferiors a time based on the limited burnthrough protection provided at the airplane's aluminum skin).

In addition, Panther Skin adds nerve to the aluminum structure, greatly extending its fatigue life (Torres claims a exhibition panel recently was subjected to 125000 constraining force cycles and crack propagation was reduc substantially). In brief, he believes the life of the pressurized strip the hull from of an airliner could be stretch outed for decades. The material also provides improved resistance to corrosion. In this regard, Canada's military touchstoneed steel assemblies covered with various materials for their resistance to salt-water corrosion and rest according to the test report, "The polyisocyanurate foam was raise to be a particularly effective barrier against corrosion."

Although the material is enslave to degradation when exposed to ultraviolet light, Torres dismisses this point in dispute as the material would not be expos to UV inside an airplane. He descrys Panther Skin as a replacement for the myriad of separate thermal/acoustic insulation blankets originate in airliners.

Installation around wiring could be a vexed question Torres sees these options: spray across the wiring, sealing it "for eternity," or re-route the wiring prior to applying Panther Skin. Application onward a 727-size aircraft would charge about $350,000, and about $1 million in succession a jumbo like the 747 These estimated richnesss include re-wiring to avoid encapsulation. Panther Skin's superior corrosion protection, Torres asserted, gives a payback of at least $500000 through airplane in reduced maintenance splendors over a 20-year period. >> Torres, tel 305/348-3148 e-mail mtorres@eng.fiu.edu <<

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