SEDL / STP / STP318-EB / STP46010S

Electroforming for Aviation and Aerospace Applications at Bart Manufacturing Corp.

Carr, Dodd S.
Vice-President of Research and Vice-President of Engineering, Bart Manufacturing Corp., Newark, N. J.

Buschow, Adolph G.
Vice-President of Research and Vice-President of Engineering, Bart Manufacturing Corp., Newark, N. J.

Pages: 10    Published: Jan 1962

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Abstract

One of the factors which limited the useful life of helicopter rotor blades was the erosive effect of air-borne dirt during takeoff and landing as well as the impact of rain droplets while in flight. In order to counteract these erosive effects, electroformed nickel protective strips were developed to protect the de-icing heater elements along the leading edge of the rotor blades. The electroformed nickel protective strips were hard (450 to 650 Vickers hardness number, 1-kg load), ductile (180-deg bend around a 1-in. rod), fatigue-resistant (compressively stressed when plated at current densities from 10 to 200 amp per sq ft), impact-resistant (could be deformed without cracking), and tapered in thickness to conform to the contour of the rotor blade.