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JUNE/JULY 2016 AviationPros.com 25 PRODUCT PROFILE If for some reason, Tour says, the wing was damaged and some of the composite was damaged or removed, an MRO can repair that with an epoxy as they normally would. The only difference would be the addition of the graphene nanoribbons to the epoxy and the overcoat. Good as new. "We're not putting nanoribbons in the entire structure," Tour says. "In Rice's lab tests, nanoribbons were no more than 5 percent of the composite," Williams wrote in a January update. "The researchers led by Rice graduate student Abdul-Rahman Raji spread a thin coat of the composite on a segment of rotor blade supplied by a helicopter manufacturer; they then replaced the thermally conduc- tive nickel abrasion sleeve used as a leading edge on rotor blades. They were able to heat the composite to more than 200 degrees Fahrenheit." With deicing built into the aircraft, expen- sive equipment becomes less necessary. That also means a labor reduction on the ramp. Fewer people means less ramp traffc. The decrease in ramp traffc just so happens to involve some of the largest and most expen- sive equipment on the ramp. That's Great, But Where Did This Come From? Tour and his team originally developed the compound with Lockheed Martin to deice sensitive marine and airborne radar sys- tems. The goal was to develop a coating that would protect radomes while maintaining radio frequency integrity. "When we were doing radomes, we found that we could apply this with poly- urethane," Tour says. "But if this were going to be used in the aircraft industry, I suspect they just want to put it as part of the epoxy that's already used in the carbon composite that makes that aircraft. When you're fying at high speeds, overcoats have a way of being braided off." With an atom-thin coating of the con- ductive carbon, RF radiation, which is what radars operate on, continued to work with- out any problem and could be deiced by just applying a small voltage across them. The "R" part of R&D; is done, Tour says. And they've demonstrated that it works on any number of surfaces and as a part of any number of coatings. "But then there's the 'D' part, Tour says. "The 'D' part is never inexpensive." Rice University is currently looking for a serious partner to develop the technol- ogy and go to "the next level." That level isn't limited to aircraft, though. Tour says he sees this coating protecting vehicles, homes, cables and power lines alike. Lockheed's involvement in the radome developments resulted in shared intellec- tual property for that segment. Budgetary issues, however, derailed the opportunity to continue development for aircraft. "They were very interested but Lockheed has a volatile budget," Tour says. "They went into a down cycle and all the people who were working in this area either were laid off or got reassigned to other things. "It's not going to happen until somebody buys it. We have the licenses. The licenses are available." When the flm at left is heated without an application of lubricants, ice melts but water droplets remain on the surface. With lubricants, at right, ice begins to melt and slides off. The Tour Group HII HYD-3865.3 HYDRAULICS INTERNATIONAL, INC. 9201 Independence Ave., Chatsworth, CA 91311 USA (Phone) 818.407.3400 | (Fax) 818.407.3428 www.hiigroup.com Hydraulics International, Inc. Primary use for flling or topping off... Even if your source gas pressure drops below 300-PSI OXYGEN & NITROGEN BOOSTERS Onboard Oxygen Bottles • Struts • Escape Chute High Altitude Low Opening (HALO) • Life Rafts • Tires 2G SERIES Electric Driven • 5000-PSIG rated • 15 SCFM discharge rate • Quiet, only 60 dba • No belts or pulleys • 2-Stage and double acting confgurations INCREASE PROFITS Gas Boosters provide up to 40% MORE FILLS 5G SERIES Air Driven • 5000-PSIG rated • 36 SCFM discharge rate • Portable • Single acting, double acting and 2-stage confgurations • Two (2) bottle hand truck • Fits bottles 9.3" in diameter and 51" in height • Accommodates single / double acting and 2-stage confgurations • Automatic shutoff safety valves HIHPG1 SERIES Air Driven Made in the U.S.A. AviationPros.com/10017435 without lubricants before de-icing after de-icing with lubricants