Hughes Aircraft Company

Robert E Ritter

Preston S DuPont

John P Stafford

Alois Wittmann

Preston S Du Pont

Brent G Schaffer

Janet E Freeman

Brian A McGrath

Kenneth A Fouts, Iii

A honeycomb facesheet material, and honeycomb made therewith, wherein the facesheet includes a layer of graphite paper bonded to a layer of graphite cloth, woven from widely spaced graphite fibers. The facesheet is impregnated with an epoxy resin during manufacture, and the facesheet is bonded to an open end of the honeycomb under elevated pressure and temperature to effect curing of the epoxy resin. The graphite paper supports the layer of graphite cloth during handling to prevent misalignment of the fibers, and also effects a widely distributed bond between the fibers and the underlying honeycomb.

Honeycomb facesheet material and honeycomb made therewith

Conductive coating (20) is a thorough mixture of 0.03 parts per weight of carbon black together with 0.003 to 0.01 parts per weight of wetting agent and 20 parts of solvent, and further mixing in by low shearing mixing 1/2 to 1 part per weight of thermosetting resin. This is then sprayed into place on the substrate and thermoset. In this particular case, the substrate is exterior face sheet (12) of honeycomb structure (10) which may serve as part of a spacecraft, to electrically conduct away surface charges.

Conductive coating

Electrically conductive composite structure

Fiber-reinforced syntactic foam composites having a low specific gravity and a low coefficient of thermal expansion suitable for forming lightweight structures for spacecraft applications are prepared from a mixture of a heat curable thermosetting resin, hollow microspheres having a diameter of about 5 to 200 micrometers and fibers having a length less than or equal to 250 micrometers.

Fiber-reinforced syntactic foam composites and method of forming same

Conductive coating (20) is produced by the process of first mixing by high shear mixing a mixture of 0.03 parts per weight of carbon black together with 0.003 to 0.01 parts per weight of wetting agent and 20 parts of solvent, and further mixing in by low shear mixing 1/2 to 1 part per weight of thermosetting resin. Prior to application this is then sprayed into place on the substrate. In this particular case, the substrate is exterior face sheet (12) of honeycomb structure (10) which may serve as part of a spacecraft, to electrically conduct away surface charges.

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Palos Verdes, CA, United States of America

Robert E Ritter