Journal
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING SCIENCE
Volume 63, Issue -, Pages 61-70Publisher
PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijengsci.2012.11.002
Keywords
Puncture-resistant; Self-repair; Inflatable structures; Membranes; PU foam
Categories
Ask authors/readers for more resources
The self-repair mechanism of flexible cellular as well as dense polyurethane coatings applied on the internal side of a commercially available membrane for inflatable structures was investigated. In a dedicated test setup the coated membrane was punctured with a spike of 2.5 mm in diameter and the flow of the leaking air was measured. Parameters such as the coating thickness and coating weight as well as the mechanical properties and microstructure were varied and their influence on the repair efficiency of the coatings analysed. The mechanism underlying the self-repair effect was identified and found to be the result of compressive strains in the coating layer, mostly induced by the curvature of inflated membranes. The strain situation in the coating layer is for a given curvature most exclusively dependent on the thickness of the applied coatings. With respect to a minimum in coating weight, flexible closed cell foam coatings yield the most promising repair efficiencies (>0.99). (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available