Date: Jan 01, 2006 Author: Parick Hartary. NTTC Source: MDA (
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by Patrick Hartary/phartary@nttc.edu
Paint is a toxic brew of chemicals that can cause harm to humans, animals, and the environment. Changes in government and environmental regulations—in both the United States and around the world—are forcing industry and the military to seek more eco-friendly paint alternatives.
Integument Technologies, Inc. (Tonawanda, NY), has developed an eco-friendly paint replacement: a peel-and-stick plastic film that strongly resembles wallpaper. The new material is thin, flexible, and easy to apply. With a pressure-sensitive adhesive on one side, it can bond to the surface of nearly any metal or composite. Unlike wallpaper, which has just an aesthetic purpose, Integument's technology also provides corrosion protection and can be engineered to provide other "functional" benefits.
A field technician applies Integument's FluoroGrip technology to an outdoor storage tank. The thin-film material protects metal from rust and corrosion.
"Compared with paint, our plastic film is far more environmentally friendly" said Terry Vargo, Integument's co-founder and current president. "It doesn't contain any of the solvents, toxic metals, or volatile organic compounds that paint does. Its application is even easy on the Earth. That's another big benefit."
How to ruin Teflon
Integument bases its material on a family of plastics called fluoropolymers, which are well known for their nonstick surfaces (like Teflon®). These materials are also highly regarded for their resistance to a wide variety of chemicals and high temperatures (up to 475°F) as well as their ability to prevent filth and grime from building up, reducing the need for cleaning and maintenance. In addition, Integument has developed novel technology for dyeing and pigmenting fluoropolymers that can facilitate selective incorporation of multicolored 3-D patterns or designs.
As a research associate in the late 1980s, Vargo was working at the State University of New York at Buffalo when he developed technology that effectively modified the surface of fluoropolymers in a unique way. "We basically came up with a technique to change the nonreactive aspects of Teflon surfaces by creating permanent reactive chemical functionality on selected regions or sides of Teflon-based films," Vargo said. "At that point in time, there was no method for controllably and permanently reacting materials to fluoropolymers, and our research overcame that technological hurdle." Vargo then demonstrated the ability to permanently bond a variety of materials to fluoropolymer surfaces, including a wide range of pressure-sensitive, "peel-and-stick" adhesives.
The final product is an appliqué that offers mechanical-, thermal-, and chemical/environmental-resistance properties that are superior to those of paints currently used in industry and the military. Additionally, multilayered systems can be created, and various coatings and materials can be added to supply other functional characteristics such as visual camouflage, antifouling resistance, static dissipation, and wear and erosion protection.
With a team of investors, Vargo helped co-found a start-up called Integrated Technologies, the precursor to Integument, to further develop the technology and explore potential applications. In 1997, the company changed its name to Integument and began conducting demonstrations of its FluoroGrip® technology. This activity subsequently led to Integument's winning of the highly prestigious 2001 Vaalar Award for breakthrough technology for advanced control of corrosion in the chemical processing industry. In 2002, the company teamed with DACCO SCI on an MDA SBIR Phase I project to explore the possibility of integrating DACCO's corrosion sensor within Integument's material. The idea was to demonstrate a corrosion-monitoring sensor for MDA structures located in warm, humid, and salty environments like the South Pacific.
With the success of the Phase I project, the team was invited to submit a Phase II proposal, which it won. It was during this research phase that Integument discovered that the material's emissivity and reflectivity could be engineered. For example, the material could be made such that thermal energy would reflect off it, lowering the temperature of the object to which it was bonded. At an MDA facility on the Hawaiian island of Kauai, Integument applied its material to several base trucks. "The difference in surface temperature was like night and day," Vargo said. "Without FluoroGrip, nobody could touch the roofs of the vehicles exposed to sunlight for long periods. With our material, you could sit on the roof."
Corrosion is costly
Integument's technology has exciting possibilities, particularly in the area of corrosion protection. According to the Federal Highway Administration, corrosion-related costs in the United States are approximately $276 billion per year, which is 3.1 percent of the 1998 U.S. gross domestic product. The top three economic sectors most impacted by corrosion problems are defense, motor vehicles, and drinking water and sewer systems.
Fluorogrip can be applied over or in lieu of traditional military standard paints in areas where paint/corrosion protection may be required. For example, Integument has ongoing projects to develop and demonstrate various FluoroGrip materials for applications on the U.S. Navy V-22 Osprey and F-35 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft, U.S. Navy land vehicles, and MDA and U.S. Air Force structures and equipment.
Besides superior corrosion protection for structures and equipment, another example of the appliqué benefit relates to potential weight savings on military aircraft. For example, with each coat of exterior paint, military aircraft gain a small amount of weight that can affect flight performance. Removing layers of paint is expensive. Aircraft must be moved to a special facility and sandblasted, creating the need for hazardous-material containment. Integument's material could save substantial maintenance costs by reducing painting requirements, repair time compared to touch-up painting, and environmental-containment costs. The technology could be similarly applied to military structures and vehicles like trucks.
Additionally, FluoroGrip can be used as a preventative maintenance paint-repair patch. The inner hulls of double-hulled oil tankers are prime targets of corrosion. Integument's material has been used to spot-patch these hulls, preserving them from further corrosion. It can be applied without the need for dry docking, saving more costs. Likewise, the ballast tanks of submarines have been protected from corrosion using this technology.
After a few hours under the sun, the roofs of military trucks at a Hawaii-based MDA facility get extremely hot. Integument applied its FluoroGrip technology to the roofs of several trucks and measured a significant reduction in surface temperature.
There are dozens of other potential uses. Integument is working with a Danish company to protect windmills from lightning strikes. The technology may also be suitable to protect graffiti-prone bridges and buildings. Because it is made with a nonstick fluoropolymer, surface modification can be applied to only one side of the appliqué so that surface foulants (e.g., graffiti and dirt) can be easily washed off.
Additionally, it may be applied to boats and recreational watercraft. By extruding the material onto a textured roller, Integument can print a textured pattern on the surface of the material. This creates a "sharkskin effect" with boundary- layer effects that reduce drag. Integument reports that an independent test of the material on a personal watercraft increased top speed by 5 to 10 percent.
Integument has a solid intellectual property position and is looking for potential military and industrial applications to establish new markets. The company is available for demonstrations of its technology.
