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Technology update
Military coatings facility open to commercial research
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Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) and the U.S. Air Force have signed a cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA) that makes the specialized facilities and expertise of the Air Force Coatings Technology Integration Office (CTIO) available to commercial users. The CTIO, which is located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio, is part of the Air Force Research Laboratories Materials and Manufacturing Directorate System Support Division. Scientists and technicians from SwRI operate the equipment and conduct Air Force projects at the facility.
The CTIO was created in 1995 to improve aircraft paint and coating performance and applications knowledge for the Air Force. In 1999, SwRI was awarded $2.1 million to continue assessment and integration projects using the facility. Now, with the agreement between the Air Force and SwRI, the company's technical experts and the facility are available to manufacturers and maintenance companies in any industry for research and development involving paints and coating materials, application and removal technologies, and environmental testing.
"The CRADA will facilitate technology transfer in coatings research," said Mary Marshall, Director of SwRI's Micro-
capsules, Coatings, and Polymers Department, within the Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Division. "It will provide commercial users with the opportunity to develop material processing techniques and perform experiments without having to duplicate this state-of-the-art facility."
Frank Bokulich
Aerospace Engineering April 2000
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