Materials and Processes for the Fabrication of Full-scale Polymer Membranes

Precision high temperature tooling is an enabling technology for the production of large aperture polymer membranes with antenna, power, and propulsion applications. During Phase I, SRS demonstrated the feasibility of casting and thermally curing polymermembranes utilizing innovative tooling surface coatings and hot air knife thermal curing technology. During Phase II, SRS will apply the critical materials andprocesses technology developed in Phase I to produce full scale (>3m aperture) tooling and full scale polymer membranes that are suitable for ground testing. Test data will be collected to assess the quality of the tooling and membranes. The full scaledemonstrations of the Phase I surface coating and hot air knife curing are enabling technologies for DoD applications and for the commercialization of tooling capabilities and other membrane products.