United Technologies Research Center (UTRC), East Hartford, Conn., has been recognized by R&D Magazine as a recipient of R&D 100 Awards for two breakthrough eco-friendly technologies: Ecotuff corrosion inhibitor for high-strength aluminum alloys, and a portable aluminum deposition system for field repair of large structures.
UTRC’s Ecotuff anticorrosion pigment for organic coatings was co-developed with and commercialized through Pratt & Whitney, a unit of United Technologies Corp. Ecotuff was recognized for its ability to prevent the corrosion of high-strength aluminum alloys while maintaining the strength required for structural adhesive bond priming of aerospace products, without the use of hazardous materials. This technology is used in the aerospace industry in the form of adhesive bonding primers produced and sold globally, and holds wide application potential for such markets as paint primers, process fluids, and machining coolants.
The second R&D 100 UTRC innovation, the portable aluminum deposition system (PADS), was developed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory in collaboration with UTRC and the University of Mississippi. The PADS was selected for its ability to deposit aluminum on geometrically complex conductive metal surfaces without the extremely stringent moisture- and oxygen-free environment required by traditional aluminum deposition techniques.
The PADS relies on a revolutionary non-flammable and eco-friendly ionic liquid electrolyte technology and electrolyte dispensing mechanism to deposit aluminum. The system’s electrolytes are stable in air and water for a sufficiently long period to allow electroplating in open atmosphere without compromising the plating layer quality. The technology is highly mobile and scalable, meaning it is ideal for field repair of large structural substrates.
Additionally, the PADS technology’s flexibility can potentially reduce the cost of aluminum plating by as much as 50 times by allowing field repairs anywhere. The technology enables selective plating on structures that are too large to fit into a conventional plating bath or that feature intricate geometries that require costly tooling and capital investment, and also eliminates use of hazardous coating materials and surface treatment methods.
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