Inventors:
Wendell Keith Belvin - Wicomico VA, US
David W. Sleight - Virginia Beach VA, US
John W. Connell - Yorktown VA, US
Thomas J. Burns - Williamsburg VA, US
Nancy M.H. Holloway - White Marsh VA, US
Frank L. Palmieri - Hampton VA, US
Gary A. Wainwright - Lanexa VA, US
Robert C. Andrews - Gloucester VA, US
Martin Eckhard Zander - Barleben, DE
Assignee:
U.S.A. as represented by the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration - Washington DC
International Classification:
B32B 3/00
B05D 3/06
B05D 5/12
B32B 9/04
B32B 37/02
B32B 37/14
B32B 27/06
B05D 5/00
B05D 5/06
US Classification:
4281951, 427256, 427553, 427 58, 427162, 156 60, 4284735, 4284111
Abstract:
A method for manufacturing a thin film structural system including a thin film structure includes depositing a reinforcing material in a liquid form in a predefined pattern on a thin film membrane, and transforming the reinforcing material in the predefined pattern to form a reinforcing element connected to the thin film membrane. The reinforcing material may be deposited in a melted form and solidified by cooling, may be transformed by a light or laser induced chemical reaction, or may be deposited and solidified such that the reinforcing element is at least partially embedded in the thin film membrane. The predefined pattern may redistribute loads around a damaged portion of the thin film structure, or define a hinge, a folding line, a stiffening feature. The reinforcing element may be electrically, optically or thermally conductive, to communicate with a device included in the system. The system may be a space structure.