Award

There is a need to develop advanced materials for radome construction that incorporates structural and weather integrity, and can sustain the mechanical stresses associated with handling, construction, and wind loading. In addition, there is a requirement for a durable, long lasting hydrophobic coating. All materials and coatings must be optimized for radio frequency transparency. This project seeks to develop radome panel material production and assembly methods using a unique thermoplastic panel design and novel panel joining methods to solve these inherent problems. BENEFIT: Numerous military applications exist for radome structures for radar and communications. In addition, there are other potential commercial applications for radomes and for spherical structures.