Reactive composite material structures with electrostatic discharge protection and applications thereof

US8336457B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• NanoFoil Corporation · US

Inventors

• Timothy P. Weihs · Baltimore, US
• Etienne Besnoin · Baltimore, US
• Ramzi Vincent · Columbia, US
• Somasundaram Valliappan · Timonium, US
• Ellen M. Heian · Azusa, US
• David van Heerden · Baltimore, US
• Timothy Ryan Rude · Salt Lake City, US
• Omar Knio · Timonium, US
• Ronald Spraker · Martinsville, US
• Yuping Lin · Tucker, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Jun 15, 2006
• Grant date: Dec 25, 2012
• Expiry date: Dec 18, 2029

Classification

• Technology area (CPC Y): Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
• CPC primary: Y10T428/12632
• WIPO field: Materials, metallurgy
• WIPO sector: Chemistry

Abstract

Applicants have discovered that electrostatic discharge (ESD) may, in some circumstances, result in current densities sufficient to ignite unprotected reactive composite materials. They have further discovered that a reactive composite material (RCM) can be protected from ESD ignition without adversely affecting the desirable properties of the RCM by the application of conducting and/or insulating materials at appropriate locations on the RCM. Thus ESD-protected RCM structures can be designed for such sensitive applications as ignition of propellants, generation of light bursts, and structural materials for equipment that may require controlled self-destruction.