Measurement of Multi-Layer Coatings of

FEF Sensor with an Overview of SEAL

Laboratory Activities
Hsiu-Che Wang1 and
Alexander V. Mamishev2
1Departmentof Mechanical Engineering
2Department of Electrical Engineering

University of Washington
Nov. 2, 2010
Outline
 SEAL Laboratory Activities
 SensitiveSkin
 Dietary Data Recording System
 Microcooling
 Measurement of Multi-Layer Coatings Using
FEF Sensors
SEAL Laboratory Activities
Sensitive Skin
Dietary Data Recording System
Server
Client
Survey, video and
Smart phone sensor data Database,
volume
Laser Grating estimation

Survey,
control of data
collection
Survey, audio, and
volume data

Nutrition
 Engineers and clinicians working together analysis based
on data and
 Different engineering problems survey
Microcooling
 Electrospray Cooling
Device

90°C
Measurement of Multi-Layer
Coatings Using Fringing
Electric Field Sensors
 Introduction
Coatings are applied to aircraft’s parts body and parts
mainly as a defense against corrosion, abrasion, and
degradation frequently caused by chemical contamination and
UV radiation.
 Repainting of military aircraft is recommended every 8 to 12
years and of commercial airliners every 4 years. Coating
removal is expensive and generates hazardous waste.
The ability to verify the still coating characteristics could
minimize or eliminate the need for coat stripping and
reapplying during manufacturing.

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Motivation
The motivation is to design, develop, and fabricate a
non-contact multi-layer coating fringing electric field
sensor capable of measuring the coating thickness of
individual layers of a multi-layer coating stack used on
military and commercial aircraft. The senor can be used
to measure partially dried coatings during automated
painting process.

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The Multi-Layer Coating Stack

Topcoat (1.4 – 2.8 DFT mils)
Primer (0.6 – 1.1 DFT mils)

MagRAM (20 – 80 mils)

Primer (0.6 – 1.1 DFT mils)
Conductive Coating (2.5 – 4.0 DFT mils)
Primer (0.6 – 1.1 DFT mils)

Substrate = graphite‐epoxy composite (100 – 260 mils)

MagRAM is the layer of most interest at this point.

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 Aircraft with MagRAM coating

Design Manufacturer # Built Status

F-35
Lockheed Martin None In development
Lightning II

F-22 Lockheed Martin 151 built as of Dec. 09,

In service
Raptor / Boeing 187 planned
B-2 Northrop
21 built In service
Spirit Grumman
F-117
Lockheed Martin 64 built Retired
Nighthawk

Pictures: www.airliners.net
MagRAM
 Magnetic Radar Absorbent Material is used in stealth
technology to disguise a structure from radar detection.
 Common forms of MagRAM
Common form Application
Neoprene polymer sheets with ferrite Tiles of this material were used on early
grains or carbon black particles versions of the F-117A Nighthawk
Iron ball paint (contains tiny spears coated
Also used on the F-117
with carbonyl iron or ferrite)
MagRAM paint made from ferrofluidic
Used by the US Air Force
and non-magnetic substances
Available MagRAM Products
Silicone rubber based
Flexible magRAM sheets
material
Coated carbonyl iron based
MagRAM paint paint in a proprietary
urethane acrylic resin 12
Measurement Systemt

 The dielectrometry instrument: DS-1 and all

required software.
 Fringing electric field (FEF) sensors DS-1
Software
DS-1 Meter

Graphical User Interface

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Key Results
 Modeling MagRAM paint coated on
Pure MagRAM paint metal substrates
120x10-12 400x10-12
Sensor-1 (160 mils PD)
Sensor-2 (80 mils PD)
-12
100x10 Sensor-3 (80 mils PD)
Sensor-1 (160 mils PD) 300x10-12 Sensor-4 (40 mils PD)
Capacitance (F)

Sensor-2 (80 mils PD) Sensor-5 (17 mils PD)

Capacitance (F)
-12
80x10 Sensor-3 (80 mils PD)
Sensor-4 (40 mils PD)
Sensor-5 (17 mils PD)
60x10-12 200x10-12

40x10-12
100x10-12
20x10-12

0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0

0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0
MagRAM thickness (mm)
MagRAM thickness (mm)
  100x10-12   50x10-9
Sensor-1 (160 mils PD) Sensor-1 (160 mils PD)

Capacitance sensitivity (F/mm)

Sensor-2 (80 mils PD)
Capacitance sensitivity (F/mm)

80x10 -12 Sensor-2 (80 mils PD)

Sensor-3 (80 mils PD) Sensor-3 (80 mils PD)
Sensor-4 (40 mils PD) Sensor-4 (40 mils PD)
60x10-12 Sensor-5 (17 mils PD) Sensor-5 (17 mils PD)

40x10-9
40x10-12
Gold mica
20x10-12
coating 10x10-9

0
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
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Average MagRAM thickness (mm) Average MagRAM thickness (mm)
 Key Results
 MagRAM paint coated on a metal substrate

  7x10-12   4.6x10-12
00 mils 4.4x10-12 1,000 Hz
20 mils 10,000 Hz
6x10-12 40 mils 4.2x10-12 100,000 Hz
60 mils 4.0x10-12 1,000,000 Hz
80 mils

Capacitance (F)
Capacitance (F)

Air 3.8x10-12
5x10-12
3.6x10-12
3.4x10-12
-12
4x10 3.2x10-12
3.0x10-12
3x10-12 2.8x10-12
Gold mica 2.6x10 -12

2x10-12 coating 2.4x10 -12

100x10-3 1x100 10x100 100x100 1x103 10x103 100x103 1x106 10x106 100x106 Air 0 20 40 60 80
Frequency (Hz) Thickness of the MagRAM coating (mils)

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 Key Results
 MagRAM sheets   35

30 mils
40 % (30 mils)
50x10-12 30
40 % (40 mils) 40 mils
40 % (50 mils) 50 mils
40 % (60 mils) 25 60 mils

Dielectric constant
40 % (75 mils) 75 mils
40x10-12
Capacitance (F)

60 % (30 mils)
20
60 % (40 mils)
60 % (50 mils)
30x10-12 60 % (60 mils) 15
60 % (75 mils)
80 % (30 mils)
10
80 % (40 mils)
20x10-12 80 % (50 mils)
80 % (60 mils) 5
80 % (75 mils)
10x10-12 0
100x10-3 1x100 10x100 100x100 1x103 10x103 100x103 1x106 10x106 100x106
3 3 3 3 3
20x10 40x10 60x10 80x10 100x10
Frequency (Hz)
Frequency (Hz)

300x10-12
  40x10-12   30 mils
30 mils
40 mils 40 mils
250x10-12 50 mils
50 mils
30x10-12 60 mils 60 mils
75 mils
Capacitance (F)
Capacitance (F)

75 mils 200x10-12

20x10-12 150x10-12
Gold mica
100x10-12
10x10-12 coating
50x10-12

0 0
1x100 10x100 100x100 1x103 10x103 100x103 1x106 1x106 10x10
16
6

Frequency (Hz) Frequency (Hz)

Key Results
 Boeing’s gold mica paint coated on commercial
aircraft

  60x10-12
2 mils
4 mils
50x10-12 8 mils
12 mils
Air
Capacitance (F)

40x10-12

30x10-12

20x10-12

Gold10x10mica -12

coating
0
1x103 10x103 100x103
Frequency (Hz)
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 Possible Future Uses

 Stealth Ships
 Stealth Drones
 Aircraft Paint Hangars
 General Coating Applications

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Pictures: www.airliners.net
Demo
 Simultaneous measurement using the multi-channel
portable DS-1 dielectrometry instrument.
 MagRAM sheet and Boeing’s gold mica samples.
 Thickness and coating loading.

MagRAM sheet

Graphical User
Interface

Gold mica DS-1

samples

Fringing Electric Field Sensors

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Thank you…..
Questions?

Hsiu-Che Wang
Department of Mechanical Engineering
University of Washington
Seattle, WA, USA
[email protected]