Date: Sep 09, 2013 Author: press release Source: Company Data (
click here to go to the source)
BOULDER
-
Eltron Research and Development Inc. in Boulder
, Colorado
has received
notice
that their
Refractory Coated Portable Helipad technolog
y has been awarded a Phase I Option
from the Army's SBIR program
.
The Phase I Option is gap funding between the Phase I and Phase II projects. The Phase II
project should be awarded in the first quarter of 2014.
Eltron
has developed a
new type of heat r
esistant portable helipad that is required for future
helicopter and vertical takeoff and landing aircraft
. Current solutions are unsuitable for use by
aircraft like the V
-
22 which is becoming more widely used due to its long range and high speed
relative
to helicopters. In Phase I, mat materials polyester, polyethylene, polypropylene, fire
-
retardant structural fiberglass, and high temperature structural fiberglass were coated with
Eltron's refractory composite coating which prevented ignition and reduced w
eight loss when
exposed to 343
C (650
F) for 20 minutes. None of the uncoated mat materials could withstand
the thermal exposure requirements without weight loss or discoloration.
In Phase II, Eltron will refine the coating method for scale
-
up, coat prot
otype full size mats,
validate the prototype for technical requirements, and perform a techno
-
economic analysis. The
refractory coating should retain excellent corrosion and weather resistance, ease of installation
and ground preparation, and superior dust
suppression capability of conventional mats.
