Laser-based Paint Removal for Aluminum and Composite Aircraft Structures

飞机喷漆系统的典型寿命约为3至5年，超过这一寿命后，其防腐和美观效果就会下降。这种降解需要脱漆和重新涂装，这意味着在飞机的整个使用寿命中，它将需要超过5次脱漆和重新涂装。目前从飞机上脱漆的工艺涉及机械磨损和化学剥离，这两种工艺都有很大的回缩。大量的有害废物产生于劳动密集型的脱漆过程，增加了对员工健康和环境的安全担忧。这也可能是对基材的潜在损害，可能会危及飞机的完整性。使用激光通过烧蚀去除航空涂料涂层已经成为激光去除工艺的前沿；提供了一种环境友好的替代方案，几乎不产生废物，几乎不需要安全预防措施，并提供了自动化的可能性。Besnovo，一家总部位于安大略省的公司目前正在使用一种集成了机械臂的激光，有效地从各种航空材料上剥离涂料。为了进一步发展这项技术，需要对脱涂层后的基材进行详细的表征，以排除基材损坏的可能性。为了评估损伤的存在，必须对复合材料和金属航空材料进行材料测试，以确定激光脱涂层的效果。

Aircraft paint systems have a typical life of around 3 to 5 years after which their effectiveness for corrosion protection and cosmetic appearance are degraded. This degradation requires paint removal and re-application, which means that through the useful lifetime of an aircraft it will require paint removal and re-application in excess of 5 times.Current processes for paint removal from aircraft involve mechanical abrasion, and chemical stripping, both of which have significant draw backs. A large amount of harmful waste is produced by the labor-intensive paint stripping processes raising safety concerns for employee health and the environment. The can also be potential damage to substrate material which can compromise the integrity of an aircraft. The use of lasers to remove aerospace paint coatings through ablation have come to the forefront of laser removal processes; providing an environmentally friendly alternative, producing almost no waste, requiring little safety precautions, and offering the possibility of automation.Besnovo, an Ontario based company is currently using a laser, integrated with a robotic arm to effectively strip paint from a variety of aerospace materials. To further develop this technology, detailed characterization of the substrate material after de-coating is required to rule out the possibility of substrate damage. To evaluate the presence of damage, material testing must be conducted on both composite & metallic aerospace materials to determine the effects of laser de-coating.