Aircraft baffle seal
Aircraft systems having baffle seals with low coefficients of friction and methods of assembling aircraft systems are disclosed herein. In one embodiment, an aircraft system includes: (a) an aircraft baffle; (b) an aircraft cowl separated from the aircraft baffle by a gap, the aircraft cowl having a contact surface; and (c) a flexible aircraft baffle seal extending from the aircraft baffle to the aircraft cowl to seal the gap, the aircraft baffle seal having a contact side for contacting the contact surface of the aircraft cowl, the contact side having a kinetic coefficient of friction that is not more than 0.4, the aircraft baffle seal comprising an elastomer sheet and a laminate, the laminate being the contact side.
1. An aircraft system, comprising:
an aircraft baffle;
an aircraft cowl separated from the aircraft baffle by a gap, the aircraft cowl having a contact surface; and
a flexible aircraft baffle seal extending from the aircraft baffle to the aircraft cowl to seal the gap, the aircraft baffle seal having a contact side for contacting the contact surface of the aircraft cowl, the contact side having a kinetic coefficient of friction that is not more than 0.4, the aircraft baffle seal comprising an elastomer sheet and a laminate, the laminate being the contact side.
2. The aircraft system of claim 1 , wherein the laminate contact side includes a material selected from the group consisting of polytetrafluoroethylene, fluorinated ethylene propylene copolymer, a copolymer of ethylene and tetrafluoroethylene, and a perfluoroalkoxy polymer resin.
3. The aircraft system of claim 2 wherein the elastomer sheet includes a layer of fiber cloth to reinforce the elastomer sheet and increase the durability of the elastomer sheet.
4. The aircraft system of claim 3 , wherein a plurality of fasteners attach the aircraft baffle seal to the aircraft baffle.
5. The aircraft system of claim 1 , wherein the contact side has a kinetic coefficient of friction that is not more than 0.25.
6. The aircraft system of claim 1 , wherein the kinetic coefficient of friction is measured using the ASTM D 1894-01 test method with an opposing surface of stainless steel with a #8 finish, a cross head speed of 6 inches per minute, and modified with 0.25 psi surface pressure instead of 0.07 psi.
7. An aircraft system, comprising:
an aircraft baffle;
an aircraft cowl separated from the aircraft baffle by a gap, the aircraft cowl having a contact surface; and
an aircraft baffle seal extending from the aircraft baffle to the aircraft cowl to seal the gap, the aircraft baffle seal comprising a sheet of material having a flexible primary layer and a flexible contact layer presenting a contact side for contacting the contact surface of the cowl, the contact side having a kinetic coefficient of friction that is not more than 0.4.
8. The aircraft system of claim 7 , wherein the sheet of material includes an elastomer and a laminate on opposed sides of a fiber cloth, the laminate being the contact side and having the kinetic coefficient of friction that is not more than 0.4.
9. The aircraft system of claim 8 , wherein the laminate includes a material selected from the group consisting of polytetrafluoroethylene, fluorinated ethylene propylene copolymer, a copolymer of ethylene and tetrafluoroethylene, and a perfluoroalkoxy polymer resin.
10. The aircraft system of claim 7 , further comprising a third layer for reinforcing and increasing the durability of the primary layer.
11. The aircraft system of claim 7 , wherein a laminate is the contact side and has the kinetic coefficient of friction that is not more than 0.4.
12. The aircraft system of claim 11 , wherein the laminate includes a material selected from the group consisting of polytetrafluoroethylene, fluorinated ethylene propylene copolymer, a copolymer of ethylene and tetrafluoroethylene, and a perfluoroalkoxy polymer resin.
13. The aircraft system of claim 7 , wherein:
the primary layer includes an elastomer sheet and fiber cloth, the fiber cloth reinforcing the elastomer sheet to increase the durability of the elastomer sheet;
the contact layer includes a fluorocarbon film laminate at the contact side;
the primary layer is from 0.06 to 0.13 inches thick;
the contact layer is from 0.002 to 0.010 inches thick; and
the contact side has a coefficient of friction from 0.03 to 0.25.
14. The aircraft system of claim 7 , wherein the kinetic coefficient of friction is measured using the ASTM D 1894-01 test method with an opposing surface of stainless steel with a #8 finish, a cross head speed of 6 inches per minute, and modified with 0.25 psi surface pressure instead of 0.07 psi.