The functionality of drones is inseparable from the support of hardware materials. How to find polymer materials with better performance is a key issue that drone manufacturers need to solve.
The main requirements of drones for polymer materials are:
- Low density: The lighter overall weight of drones helps to improve flight efficiency and endurance.
- High modulus: High modulus means high stability of the material, which can ensure that the drone maintains a good posture and maneuverability during flight.
- High strength: Polymer materials need to withstand various complex environments and load conditions to improve the reliability and durability of drones.
- In addition, there are also wear resistance, impact resistance, high temperature resistance, low temperature resistance, low water absorption, chemical resistance, electromagnetic wave resistance, etc. to ensure the stability and service life of drone flights.
Compared with traditional metal materials, the use of CFRT (continuous fiber reinforced thermoplastic) polymer materials has many advantages such as light structure weight, high strength, creep resistance, fatigue resistance, and small thermal expansion coefficient. It plays an important role in reducing the weight of drones, increasing payload, and improving safety. In addition, replacing metal materials with CFRT materials also has the advantages of reducing vibration and noise, and reducing the interference of metal materials on remote signals.
Application of CFRT materials in drones
- Casing.
- Wing.
- Propeller.
- Radiator.
- Battery housing.
- Cooling fan.
- Bracket, etc.
Common CFRT materials for drones
PA (Polyamide)
- Wear resistance: PA has good wear resistance and friction resistance, and is suitable for parts that require wear resistance.
- Mechanical strength: It has high mechanical strength, rigidity and impact resistance, and is suitable for applications that bear large loads.
- Chemical resistance: It has a certain tolerance to oils, greases, fuels, solvents, etc., but has poor tolerance to strong acids and alkalis.
- Hygroscopicity: PA has high hygroscopicity, and moisture can affect its physical properties. Therefore, when used in a high humidity environment, it is necessary to pay attention to the effect of moisture absorption.
- Temperature resistance: The general PA temperature range is around 120°C, but special types of PA can withstand higher temperatures.
PEEK (Polyetheretherketone)
- High temperature performance: PEEK has extremely high thermal stability and can be used in environments with continuous operating temperatures up to 250°C, and can withstand higher temperatures for a short period of time.
- Mechanical strength: PEEK has excellent mechanical strength and rigidity, especially at high temperatures.
- Chemical stability: PEEK has strong tolerance to most acids, alkalis, solvents, climate change, etc.
- Low friction and self-lubrication: Due to its low friction coefficient, PEEK is often used in applications that require self-lubrication or wear resistance.
- Electrical insulation: PEEK has excellent electrical insulation properties and is suitable for electronic components in high temperature and high pressure environments.
PPS (Polyphenylene Sulfide)
- High temperature resistance: PPS has extremely high thermal stability and can be used at temperatures up to 260°C for a long time and can withstand temperatures up to 300°C for a short time.
- Chemical resistance: PPS has excellent corrosion resistance to many strong acids, alkalis, solvents, oils and other chemicals.
- Mechanical properties: PPS has excellent mechanical strength, rigidity and impact resistance, and its mechanical properties remain stable even at high temperatures.
- Dimensional stability: Due to its low coefficient of expansion, PPS can maintain good dimensional stability when the temperature changes.
- Electrical insulation: PPS has excellent electrical insulation properties and can still maintain excellent electrical properties in high temperature and humid environments.
- Wear resistance: PPS has good wear resistance and self-lubricating properties, and can be used for parts in high friction and high pressure environments, such as bearings and gears.
PC (Polycarbonate)
- High transparency: PC material has very high transparency, and the optical transparency can reach more than 90%.
- Impact resistance: PC has excellent impact resistance and is one of the most impact-resistant materials among all engineering plastics.
- Thermal stability: It can be used in a wide temperature range, and the general PC temperature range is around 115°C.
- Dimensional stability: Due to its small thermal expansion coefficient, PC has good dimensional stability.
- Electrical insulation: PC has good electrical insulation properties.