Laird R&F Products has developed a line of elastomers, thermal insulators and electromagnetic interference-suppressing absorbers for the military and aerospace industries that can withstand extremely high temperatures and exposure to jet and missile fuel. Using resilient fluorosilicone, these products help design engineers combat electromagnetic interference and improve the reliability of critical survivability components and electronics in close proximity to jet engines.
“Exposure to jet or missile fuel or even fuel fumes can damage protective components like absorbers and insulators and potentially cause critical parts of military jets and vehicles to fail,” said Rick Johnson, president of R&F Products. “Until now, however, military and aerospace design engineers didn’t have access to a line of fluorosilicone materials that spanned absorbers, elastomers and thermal insulators. Our comprehensive product line helps these engineers maximize the performance and reliability of their systems.”
Laird R&F Products designs and manufactures products that help military and aerospace design engineers improve electromagnetic absorption, transparency, thermal conductivity and overall thermal management. The new fluorosilicone product line has been tested to withstand exposure to JP8 and JP10 fuels, oils, and de-icing fluids. It includes five solutions:
- Fuel-Resistant and Fire-Retardant Microwave Absorbers (F2R2) can withstand temperatures up to 475 degrees Fahrenheit. These absorbers are currently used in production flight and cavity resonance applications for military electronics.
- Fluorosilicone Conductive Elastomers (FS-EcE) can be customized into a wide variety of extruded shapes and to include a variety of fillers, such as silver-plated metals and nickel coated graphite. These materials meet the requirements of MIL-DTL 83528 and are flight qualified.
- Fluorosilicone Non-Conductive Elastomers (FS-NcE) are qualified for military and aerospace gasket and seal applications.
- Fluorosilicone Thermal Insulators (FS-TI) incorporate high-strength microballoons to maximize insulation and reduce weight. The product has a higher temperature capability (475 degrees Fahrenheit) than standard composites and can act as a protective layer over aerospace composites.
- F2R2 Comolded bonds F2R2 to FS-EcE or FS-TI. By molding F2R2 to a thin .010 inches of conductive elastomer, the material has its own flexible conductive ground plane. Molding it to microballoon-loaded fluorosilicone creates a broadband specular solution.
“The R&F Products team works closely with military and aerospace design engineers to devise custom, innovative solutions to address their most troublesome EMI and thermal challenges,” Johnson said. “We know military and aerospace design engineers need more resilient solutions than standard commercial products. We aim to meet the industry’s need for more robust protective solutions with this fluorosilicone product line.”
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