SBIR-STTR Award

AST's hybrid modular systems work by spontaneously creating surface domains of desired chemical functions to control ice nucleation, surrounded by a durable and low surface energy matrix to enhance ice removal via reduction of ice adhesion force and promotion of interfacial crack propagation.

Ice accretion is a challenge for many industries, but perhaps most critical within aviation. Icing of airframes or components affects safety, task readiness and operational costs for both defense and commercial applications. Adaptive Surface Technologies (AST) proposes to utilize its coatings as a passive anti-icing solution. AST has previously commercialized marine paints that repel biofouling by creating surfaces with specific heterogeneous chemistry and immobilized liquids. The additive chemistries AST created to accomplish this have also shown early promise for reducing ice adhesion by disrupting interfacial crystal structure as well as modulating the freezing point and nucleation behavior. This SBIR grant would allow AST to further enhance these additives' effects while transitioning them into a more durable binder system system intended for aviation, and to make those coatings available to aviation users at an economic cost.