Use of Permapol® P3.1 polymers and epoxy resins in the formulation of aerospace sealants

This paper outlines the performance of aerospace sealants based on Permapol(R) (1) P3.1 polythioether polymer technology. Due to their chemical structure these liquid polymers have inherent resistance to fuel, water and high temperature and, in addition, exhibit high flexibility at temperatures as low as 213 K. Sealants based on this technology possess excellent physical properties and demonstrate adhesion to a wide range of substrates. The epoxy curing mechanism employed to vulcanise the sealant is ideal as assembly time can be shortened without loss of sealant performance and reliability. The cure profile meets both production and repair operations even at temperatures as low as 278 K. The properties of these sealants are derived from the combination of the patented Permapol(R) P3.1 polymer technology and the epoxy curing system. (C) 2003 PRC-DeSoto International, Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.