Overview of MasterSil 153
Master Bond MasterSil 153 is a two-component paste silicone compound for high-performance bonding and sealing applications. It is an addition-cured system and does not require exposure to air for cross-linking, and it has a low exotherm during curing. It bonds well to silicones and has superb electrical insulation properties, flexibility, and can withstand thermal cycling. This combination of properties makes it highly suitable for use as an insulating interlayer for adhering to a flexible graphene-filled polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) elastomeric temperature-strain sensor to a high-curvature morphing airfoil metallic substrate.
Application
Conventional aircraft wings are rigid and have fixed shapes that limit their ability to change shape, such as by increasing lift during take-off. In contrast, morphing airwings can change their shape in-flight to optimize an aircraft’s aerodynamic efficiency. This shape change involves very large elongation and twisting, which makes it necessary to monitor the shape and structural health of morphing airwings using sensors. These sensors are usually made from rigid semiconductors that have poor flexibility and low fracture strain.
To develop a sensor capable of enduring the large twisting and elongation that morphing airwings undergo, researchers at the Italian Aerospace Research Centre (CIRA) fabricated a flexible strain-temperature sensor by filling a PDMS elastomer with conductive graphene nanoparticles. Upon optimizing the sensor’s design and graphene loading, the authors adhered it to a metallic substrate using MasterSil 153 as a flexible insulating interlayer.
To learn more about the key parameters, requirements and results, please download the full case study here.
