As part of its initiative to combat the problems associated with aging aircraft, the FAA has funded a suite of projects at the University of Dayton Research Institute (UDRI) that includes self-healing wires, smart clamps and radio wire fault detectors. The goal of the project is to eliminate the time-consuming task of tracing wire faults.
UDRI research chemist Robert Kauffman is developing wires that can repair themselves after they are damaged. He has developed a non-toxic, water-based solution called Patch–for power-activated technology for coating and healing–which the editors of R&D Magazine recently honored as one of this year’s most technologically significant new products, and has already received a commercial licensee. The inexpensive solution contains a polymer–similar to white craft glue–that could be embedded in wiring insulation. When the wire suffers a fault, its arcing electricity acts as a catalyst to trigger a chemical reaction. The polymer then reacts with ambient moisture to form a chemically bonded skin over the breached area. “If it’s simply hairline cracks in the insulation, this healing takes about a couple of seconds; if you have a scrape where you’ve removed, say, a couple of millimeters of the insulation, that might take 20 to 30 seconds,” said Kauffman.
More In Maintenance and Modifications
