SURFPREP FLASH-LAMP DEPAINT SYSTEM EVALUATION

The Surfprep machine is a flash-lamp device used for divesting surfaces of unwanted matter. It is believed that it can be used to clean gas turbine engine hardware and to strip corrosion and paints at a significant time and cost saving. The purpose of this program was to identify the potential uses of the standard paint stripper "Surfprep machine" and to verify that there is no negative effect to the substrates treated. The output power density from this machine is in the 15-30 J cm-2 range with short (4-mu-s) pulses. Areas of interest included: (A) cleaning and corrosive scale removal; (B) paint and varnish removal; (C) coating removal; (D) substrate effects; (E) geometry effects; (F) chemically assisted blasting. This program demonstrated that the Surfprep system can remove paints and varnishes in a controlled manner with reasonable removal rates, and provides optimism for what can be done with higher energy systems. It is also practical for cleaning engine parts of burnt-on oil and molybdenum disulfide, even though at a slower removal rate. We believe that it will not be detrimental to substrates. We have shown that geometry effects are not as severe as expected. Chemically assisted flashing has the potential to further improve the removal rates.