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Since the 1960's, lightning protection of aircraft has been an important design aspect, a concern for the flying public, aircraft manufacturers and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). With the implementation of major aircraft structures fabricated from carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) materials, lightning protection has become a more complicated issue to solve. One widely used material for lightning strike protection of CFRP structures within the aerospace industry is expanded metal foil (EMF). EMF is currently used in both military and commercial passenger aircraft. An issue that has historically been an area of concern with EMF is micro cracking of paint on the composite structure which can result in corrosion of the metal foil and subsequent loss of conductivity. This paper addresses the issues of stress and displacement in the composite structure layup which contribute to paint cracking caused by aircraft thermal cycling.

The technology selected for waste processing has a major effect on system closure and mission equivalent system mass (ESM). In particular, recovery of the water content of solid waste can make the difference between a mission being water poor and water rich. Potential alternative sources of water that need to be considered would include recovery of water from carbon dioxide reduction, and in situ resources. This paper looks at a range of waste-processing scenarios and calculated system ESM impacts related to these options. The lowest ESM approach is generally storage or dumping. However, other issues also need to be considered. Processing may be driven by requirements such as the need to recover commodities like water, prevent release of toxic gases into the spacecraft environment, planetary protection requirements, and interface loads.

Clothing can constitute a major logistical problem for advanced missions. Current and historical clothing systems for space missions have been assessed, as has the viability of using a washing machine to clean (recycle) clothing. Modern fabrics can reduce the mass and increase the functionality of clothing, including reducing the risk of fire, for all missions. The increased cost of acquisition of even high tech commercial off the shelf (COTS) items is trivial compared to the cost of shipping the clothing and disposing of it as trash. Washing can be cost effective when water is recycled efficiently, provided the mission is long enough. The breakeven time for clothes-washing depends on the specifics of the mission, particularly the mass equivalencies of infrastructure, but is of the order of weeks rather than years.

Increased nickel concentrations in the IATCS coolant prompted a study of the corrosion rates of nickel-brazed heat exchangers in the system. The testing has shown that corrosion is occurring in a silicon-rich intermetallic phase in the braze filler of coldplates and heat exchangers as the result of a decrease in the coolant pH brought about by cabin carbon dioxide permeation through polymeric flexhoses. Similar corrosion is occurring in the EMU de-ionized water loop. Certain heat exchangers and coldplates have more silicon-rich phase because of their manufacturing method, and those units produce more nickel corrosion product. Silver biocide additions did not induce pitting corrosion at silver precipitate sites.

The significant problem of engine power-loss and damage associated with ice crystal icing (ICI) was first formally recognized by the industry in a 2006 publication [1]. Engine events described by the study included: engine surge, stall, flameout, rollback, and compressor damage; which were triggered by the ingestion of ice crystals in high concentrations generated by deep, moist convection. Since 2003, when ICI engine events were first identified, Boeing has carefully analyzed event conditions documenting detailed pilot reports and compiling weather analyses into a database. The database provides valuable information to characterize environments associated with engine events. It provides boundary conditions, exposure times, and severity to researchers investigating the ICI phenomenon. Ultimately, this research will aid in the development of engine tests and ICI detection/avoidance devices or techniques.