NASA tests Laurel Products Ultraflon® MP- 55 and UF-8TA for ice release coatings

NASA tested a wide range of semi-permanent coatings that could be applied to the brackets of the Liquid Oxygen tanks on the space shuttle.

Tests showed that at temperatures as low as -112 °C (-170 °F) in double lap shear tests (DLS) for ice coated specimens that the total work required to separate the ice from the surface was reduced by a factor of 15 (1500%) at low strain rates to a 100 times reduction at high strain rates for a coating using mostly Laurel MP-55*. (Laurel’s micropowder comprising of loose agglomerates of sub-micron sized particles. These agglomerates are designed to easily break down producing an exceptionally high specific surface area forming a superior lubricious and uniform coating). Further testing showed that the ice release performance was enhanced through at least three removal cycles, even though there was some coating loss. The coating formulation was not designed to be a “permanent” coating.

This coating, applied by evaporative deposition of MP-55 from a Rain-X® alcoholic/MP-55 dispersion outperformed other coatings by factors of 2 to 10 times. The Laurel pre-formulated equivalents to this are DF-20 (Laurel’s dry-film lubricant dispersed in IPA) and AD-10A (Laurel’s specially formulated water-based fluoropolymer dispersion with superior adhesion). The other coatings include materials made from Lithium grease, organo-silicate and organo-titanate primers, silicone fluids, Braycote® and specialty coatings made by University of North Carolina (a recognized center for fluoropolymer development) based on fluorocarbon oligimers.

Coatings made from Laurel UF-8TA (Laurel’s patented, novel grade PTFE fluoropolymer resin micropowder. The particles of PTFE have a narrow size distribution around 300 nanometers, with each particle surface treated using Laurel Products processing technology), were only tested in limited experiments, but these appeared to have even more promise than the MP-55 coating.

*MP-55 was incorrectly identified in the report as Teflon® MP-55.

Laurel also supplies a range of semi-permanent mold release coatings:
Mold Releases

The full report can be purchased in PDF form from Science Direct at:
www.sciencedirect.com
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