Corrosion Protection and More with Metalastic™ EXP-URE
August 22, 2023
From communicating with ground control and other aircraft to taking constant environmental readings, the numerous antennae utilized on airplanes are critical to ensuring they can fulfill their intended missions while keeping pilots and passengers safe. A commercial aircraft can have up to 30 antennae while a defense aircraft can have upwards of 130, each of which is exposed to harsh conditions as well as many fluids, such as deicing materials or jet fluid. Protecting the antennae against corrosion so they can continue to function optimally is a chief concern for the aviation industry.
Parker Chomerics Metalastic™ EXP-URE urethan-filled expanded aluminum gaskets meet this need and more, providing an electrically conductive, fluid and pressure-sealing solution for exterior mounted accessories for a variety of flange-to-flange assemblies. Developed to minimize galvanic corrosion of interfacing surfaces that require electrical bonding, these fully-cured gaskets protect the antennae from fluids while maintaining electrical conductivity for lightning strike grounding or electromagnetic shielding.
Performance Improvements over Traditional Gasketing Alternatives
EXP-URE gaskets use a uniform piece of expanded aluminum versus the woven screen mesh seen in legacy products. As a result, customers can expect a 30% lower total cost of ownership from various contributing factors including the avoidance of assembly rework and material replacement.
EXP-URE gaskets can be used anywhere traditional gasketing alternatives are used, and offer many performance improvements due to their unique construction.
- Conformable, high-surface affinity urethane provides superior fluid sealing, resulting in corrosion reductions up to 300% when compared to traditional sealing alternatives. This advantage can reduce rework costs by 50%.
- Soft urethane requires low deflective force which increases design freedom for the interfacing assembly. As a result, installation is mistake-free and costs are optimized through reductions in fastener quantities, flange thickness, assembly tolerances and weight.
- Wave-formed aluminum provides electrical continuity at gasket deflection as low as 15%, promoting full-surface electrical contact between gasketing and mating surfaces instead of localizing deflection around fasteners. This optimizes electrical performance while minimizing system failures and associated rework costs.
- Expanded aluminum promotes the uniform distribution of fastener loads, eliminating harmful pitting and scoring that is commonly found with woven-wire based gasketing solutions due to the stress created by wire overlap locations. These lower stress concentrations reduce the associated rework costs of flange cracking due to stress fatigue.
- Expanded aluminum optimizes electrical performance by eliminating point-to-point contact resistance associated with woven wire gasketing technologies. The improved electrical efficiency minimizes system failures, reducing rework costs.
Engineering Support and Expertise
EXP-URE has been successfully adopted across many military and commercial applications, including:
- Exterior-mounted device bases (antennas, radars, lighting, etc.)
- Access panel assemblies (electronics bays and hatches)
- Connector/waveguide assemblies
Parker Chomerics’ manufacturing operations span the globe, improving lead time and providing personalized solutions that cater to your specific requirements. We have many manufacturing sites, including locations in Malaysia, India and North America, all backed by our commitment to zero defects.
Learn more about EXP-URE or request a sample today.
Jesse Hagar
Product Line Manager
Parker Chomerics
METALASTIC EXP-URE
Corrosion Resistant Expanded Aluminum Gasket
Parker Chomerics Metalastic™ EXP-URE urethane filled expanded aluminum gaskets provide an electrically conductive, fluid and pressure sealing solution for exterior mounted accessories
Solutions for EMI Shielding Materials
Our electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding product family spans a wide variety of uses and applications, including an extensive selection of EMI gaskets, shielded windows, shielded honeycomb air vents, cable shielding products, grounding solutions, shielding laminates, and metal foil tapes. It also includes conductive adhesives, coatings, sealants, greases and inks, as well as conductive plastics.
We’re constantly innovating in our drive to create the most advanced clean energy solutions.
EMC Considerations for Product Designers and Engineers
If you are a product designer or engineer who wants to know about the many solutions for electrmagnetic interference (EMI) shielding or simply wanted a refresher on the basics of EMC, this webinar is for you.
You will learn the theory behind EMC, the products available to meet EMC regulations, the basics of testing for EMI/RF compliance, and hear about real-world application examples.
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