Thermoplastic polyurethane coating for defense inflatables: Influence of polyurethane chemistry and UV additives on weathering performances

Abstract

This paper aims to investigate the weathering degradation of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) coatings particularly targeting the protective layer of inflatable systems used for defense applications. The study provides a comprehensive evaluation of the degradation characteristics of two thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPUs) with distinct chemical backbones, aliphatic ether-based and aromatic ester-based, when exposed to accelerated artificial weathering. Additionally, the influence of commercially available UV-stabilizing additives on the degradation extent was systematically investigated. It has been found from the study, both qualitatively and quantitatively, that the amount of degradation is much lower in case of aliphatic ether based TPU than the aromatic ester one. Incorporation of only 1wt% UV protective additive shows a further delay indegradation.The extent of the changes in the weathering degradation has beenfound to correlate well with the variations in the ultimate performance properties of the coatings.