Strategies to Control and Optimize Plasma Treatment in Composite Manufacturing

With the recent advent of practical atmospheric pressure plasma treatment systems, pretreatment of composite materials via plasma to improve the reliability of composite/composite adhesive bonds has been receiving a lot of attention. Understanding the relationship between plasma/material interactions provides material engineers with knowledge that allows science-based process control in manufacturing. This knowledge can prevent unexpected deterioration of bond quality. 

Primary Topics: 
- Plasma treatment of composite materials and the intelligent use of this technology to engineer specific, beneficial surface chemistry through plasma treatment 
- Controlling strategies for obtaining and documenting desired treatment levels 
- The importance of knowledge and control of the surface state prior to treatment (age, contamination level, contaminant composition) as a major factor in variability of the outcome of plasma treatment processes. 

Presenter: Giles Dillingham 
Dr. Giles Dillingham has worked in the areas of surfaces, interfaces, and adhesive bonding for 30 years. After earning a Ph.D. in Materials Science from the University of Cincinnati, he worked in the Advanced Composites laboratory of the Dow Chemical Company developing surface treatments for aerospace applications. Later as Technical Director of HiTech Polymers he oversaw development of thermoplastic blends and fiber reinforced composites. Returning to the University of Cincinnati he worked on plasma processing of materials and adhesive bonding of advanced composites. He incorporated BTG Labs during this time and has been growing the company full-time since 2001.