PPG Aerospace Developing Solar-Reflective Coatings for Aircraft Windows
June 12, 2009

PPG Industries' aerospace transparencies business is developing coating technology for aircraft cockpit and passenger-cabin windows that reduces solar heat transmittance. The new coatings will be on display at the Paris Air Show June 15-21 at Le Bourget Exhibition Center in Paris.

The coatings have a neutral appearance for glass and plastic windows.

"Unlike other aerospace solar-reflective window coatings, PPG Aerospace coatings will not be visibly reflective but will be color neutral for the attractive aesthetics important to our customers," says Anthony Stone, PPG Aerospace global director, new business development for transparencies.

"Our tests have shown solar transmittance for a stretched-acrylic cabin window with a solar-reflective coating to be about half that of an uncoated window while maintaining high visible light transmittance," Stone adds. "Passengers and crew will experience a noticeable improvement in comfort, especially when the air conditioning is not operating while an aircraft is on the ground."

PPG expects to qualify its stretched-acrylic cabin window coatings this year with a major airframe manufacturer and to apply the technology to glass cockpit windows, according to Stone.

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