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The Aerofoam composites have superior thermal and acoustic insulation properties when compared to conventional polyimide foams. In addition, they provide greater structural integrity than the fragile aerogel materials can provide independently. In general, polymer foams can provide excellent thermal insulation, and polyimide foams have the additional advantage of excellent high-temperature behavior and flame resistance compared to other polymer systems (they do not burn or release noxious chemicals). Incorporating aerogel material into the polyimide foam as described by this technology creates a composite that has been demonstrated to provide additional performance gains, including 25% lower thermal conductivity with no compromise of the structural integrity and high-temperature behavior of the base polyimide foam. The structural properties of Aerofoam are variable based on its formulation, and it can be used in numerous rigid and flexible foams of varying densities. Aerofoam has a number of potential commercial applications, including construction, consumer appliances, transportation, electronics, healthcare, and industrial equipment. In addition, these high-performance materials may prove useful in applications that require insulation that can withstand harsh environments, including process piping, tanks for transporting and storing hot or cold fluids, ship and boat building, and aerospace applications.

The new SMC substrate has four components: a shape memory polymer separately developed at NASA Langley; a stack of thin-ply carbon fiber sheets; a custom heater and heat spreader between the SMC layers; and integrated sensors (temperature and strain). The shape memory polymer allows the as-fabricated substrate to be programmed into a temporary shape through applied force and internal heating. In the programmed shape, the deformed structure is in a frozen state remaining dormant without external constraints. Upon heating once more, the substrate will return slowly (several to tens of seconds) to the original shape (shown below). The thin carbon fiber laminate and in situ heating solve three major pitfalls of shape memory polymers: low actuation forces, low stiffness and strength limiting use as structural components, and relatively poor heat transfer. The key benefit of the technology is enabling efficient actuation and control of the structure while being a structural component in the load path. Once the SMC substrate is heated and releases its frozen strain energy to return to its original shape, it cools down and rigidizes into a standard polymer composite part. Entire structures can be fabricated from the SMC or it can be a component in the system used for moving between stowed and deployed states (example on the right). These capabilities enable many uses for the technology in-space and terrestrially.

This technology (AERoBOND) enables the assembly of large-scale, complex composite structures while maintaining predictable mechanical and material properties. It does so by using a novel barrier-ply technology consisting of an epoxy resin/prepreg material with optimal efficiency, reliability, and performance. The barrier-ply materials prevent excessive mixing between conventional composite precursors and stoichiometrically-offset epoxy precursors during the cure process by forming a gel early in the cure cycle before extensive mixing can occur. The barrier ply is placed between the conventional laminate preform and the stoichiometrically-offset ply or plies placed on the preform surface, thus preventing excessive mass transfer between the three layers during the cure process. In practice, the barrier ply could be combined with the offset ply to be applied as a single, multifunctional surfacing layer enabling unitized assembly of large and complex structures. The AERoBOND method is up to 40% faster than state-of-the-art composite manufacturing methods, allows for large-scale processing of complex structures, eliminates the potential for weak bond failure modes, and produces composites with comparable mechanical properties as compared with those prepared by co-cure.

NASA's new material is a toughened triaxial braid made from ductile carbon nanotube (CNT) yarn hybridized with carbon fiber, which is ultimately used as reinforcement material to make toughened polymer matrix composites. The CNT yarn component of the reinforcement is solely responsible for adding toughness, while the processes used to optimize the fiber braiding parameters and tensile properties of the carbon fiber-CNT yarn hybrid tow material determine the overall improvement in tensile strength for resin impregnated fiber tows. Bundles of continuous carbon nanotube yarns are combined with a similar format of carbon fiber, yielding an easily scalable process. Advantages of the material include reduced cost by eliminating use of toughening agents, increased ability to conform to highly complex geometries, greater environmental stability compared to aramid fiber reinforcements such as Kevlar, and possibly decreased density. Many hybrid reinforcements exhibit interfacial compatibility issues, which could lead to premature failure via crack propagation at the polymer matrix interface. In contrast, chemical similarities between the CNT yarn and carbon fiber constituents impart NASA's hybrid reinforcement material with excellent interfacial compatibility. Potential applications include aerospace components, composite pressure vessels, wind turbine blades, automotive components, prosthetics, sporting equipment, construction reinforcement material, and other use-cases where strength-to-weight ratio is of utmost importance.

The new composite developed by NASA incorporates PGS and CNTs to enhance its thermal conductivity while preserving the mechanical properties of the underlying carbon fiber polymer composite. NASA has also improved the composite manufacturing process to ensure better thermal conductivity not only on the surface, but also through the thickness of the material. This was achieved by adding perforations that enable the additives to spread through the composite. The process for developing this innovative, highly thermally conductive hybrid carbon fiber polymer composite involves several steps. Firstly, a CNT-doped polymer resin is prepared to improve the matrix's thermal conductivity, which is then infused into a carbon fiber fabric. Secondly, PGS is treated to enhance its mechanical interface with the composite. Thirdly, perforation is done on the pyrolytic graphite sheet to improve the thermal conductivity through the thickness of the material by allowing CNT-doped resin to flow and better interlaminar mechanical strength. Finally, the layup of PGS and CNT-CF polymer is optimized. Initial testing of the composite has shown significant increases in thermal conductivity compared to typical carbon fiber composites, with a more than tenfold increase. The composite also has higher thermal conductivity than aluminum alloys, with more than twice the thermal conductivity of the Aluminum 6061 typically used in the aerospace industry. For this new material, NASA has completed a proof-of-concept demonstration and work continues to use the material in a heat exchanger system and further characterize the properties including longevity and radiation impact analysis.

Deployable space structures often rely upon telescoping or folding structures that either must be manually deployed or deployed by attached motors. These structures are often made from heavier (relative to carbon fiber composites) metals to provide enough strength to support a load. As such, there is a need for in-space structures that are lightweight, can be packaged compactly, and can be deployed easily. The composite material developed here does not require high temperature baking to cure the polymer, rather relying on UV light to solidify the polymer component. The composite is then included into origami-based structures that can fold and deploy using the polymer shape memory effect. The composite is first trained to assume the deployed structural shape when heated; it is then folded like origami and frozen into the packaged shape for storage and launch. Combining the composite material with the origami-inspired design leads to high strength structures (can hold at least 600 kg on Earth). To date, a ~5-inch prototype structural bar has been produced using the UV-curable composite and further development is on-going at NASA Langley. The deployable origami composite structures are at technology readiness level (TRL) 4 (component and/or breadboard validation in laboratory environment) and are available for patent licensing.

Formation of the inventive polymer composite matrix begins by growing carbon nanotubes directly on a veil substrate. The carbon nanotubes are grown from both sides of a non woven carbon fiber mat. The carbon nanotubes can be single or multi walled and can be grown to predetermined lengths. The veiled substrate is positioned between carbon fiber/ polymer prepreg layers such that the carbon nanotubes protrude into the reinforcement layers. The polymer composite matrix formed following curing of the resin exhibits improved interlaminar strength, fracture toughness and impact resistance. Because of the thinness of the veil layer, electricity can pass from conductive carbon nanotubes on one side of the veil to conductive carbon nanotubes on the other side of the veil. Electricity can also pass between two veils intercalated into the same reinforcement layer when the length of the nanotubes is sufficiently long enough to provide overlap within the reinforcement layers.

NASA's technology is the first successful 3D-printing of high temperature carbon fiber filled thermoset polyimide composites. Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) of carbon-filled RTM370 is followed by post-curing to achieve higher temperature capability, resulting in a composite part with a glass transition temperature of 370 °C. SLS typically uses thermoplastic polymeric powders and the resultant parts have a useful temperature range of 150-185 °C, while often being weaker compared to traditionally processed materials. Recently, higher temperature thermoplastics have been manufactured into 3D parts by high temperature SLS that requires a melting temperature of 380 °C, but the usable temperature range for these parts is still under 200 °C. NASA's thermoset polyimide composites are melt-processable between 150-240 °C, allowing the use of regular SLS machines. The resultant parts are subsequently post-cured using multi-step cycles that slowly heat the material to slightly below its glass transition temperature, while avoiding dimensional change during the process. This invention will greatly benefit aerospace companies in the production of parts with complex geometry for engine components requiring over 300 °C applications, while having a wealth of other potential applications including, but not limited to, printing legacy parts for military aircraft and producing components for high performance electric cars.

NASA's new technique for generating recyclable feedstocks for on-demand additive manufacturing employs the high-yield reversibility of the Diels-Alder reaction between maleimide and furan functionalities, utilizing the exceedingly favorable interaction between specific chemical functionalities, often termed "click reactions" due to their rapid rate and high efficiency. Integration of these moieties within a polymer coating on epoxy microparticle enables reversible assembly into macroscopic, free-standing articles. This click chemistry can be activated and reversed through the application of heat. Monomer species can be used to incorporate these functionalities into polyimide materials, which provide excellent mechanical, thermal, and electrical properties for space applications. Copoly (carbonate urethane) has been shown to be a viable coating material in the generation of polymer-coated epoxy microparticle systems and is amenable to being processed through a variety of approaches (e.g., filaments and slurries for 3D printing, compression molding, etc.). The polymeric materials are grown from the surfaces of in-house fabricated epoxy microparticles. The thermal and mechanical properties of the microparticles can be readily tuned by changes in composition. There are a number of potential applications for this NASA technology ranging from use of these materials for recyclable/repurpose-able articles (structural, decorative, etc.) to simple children's toys. More demanding uses such as for replacement parts in complex industrial systems are also possible. For long term space missions, it is envisioned that these feedstocks would be integrated into secondary spacecraft structures such that no additional concerns would be introduced due to in-space chemical reactions and no additional mass would be required.