Claims
- 1. A protective coating, comprising:
a base compound; a plurality of shape memory alloy (SMA) particles dispersed in said base compound; and wherein said SMA particles enhance a physical property of said coating.
- 2. The coating of claim 1, wherein said SMA particles comprise a diameter of between about 50 microns and about 0.005 microns.
- 3. The coating of claim 1, wherein said SMA particles comprise NITINOL® alloy particles.
- 4. The coating of claim 1, wherein said NITINOL® alloy particles are shaped in accordance with at least one of the shapes from the group comprising: a sphere; an oval and a cylinder.
- 5. The coating of claim 1, wherein said SMA particles comprise granules that are randomly dispersed within said base compound.
- 6. The coating of claim 1, wherein said SMA particles comprise at least about 1.0% by volume of said base compound.
- 7. The coating of claim 1, wherein said SMA particles comprise between about 1.0% and about 50% by volume of said base compound.
- 8. The coating of claim 1, wherein said SMA particles are dispersed randomly and uniformly throughout said coating.
- 9. The coating of claim 1, wherein said coating comprises a paint.
- 10. The coating of claim 1, wherein said SMA particles comprise NITINOL® alloy particles in their martensitic phase.
- 11. The coating of claim 1, wherein said SMA particles comprise a NITINOL® alloy particles in their austenitic phase.
- 12. The coating of claim 1, wherein said SMA particles have a size comprising at least about 50 microns.
- 13. The coating of claim 1, wherein said SMA particles have a size of no more than about 0.005 microns.
- 14. A paint having enhanced impact resistance, comprising:
a base paint; a plurality of shape memory alloy (SMA) particles distributed in said base paint; and wherein said SMA particles operate to improve an impact resistance of said base paint.
- 15. The paint of claim 14, wherein said SMA particles comprise a diameter of between about 50 microns and about 0.005 microns.
- 16. The paint of claim 14, wherein said SMA particles comprise NITINOL® alloy particles.
- 17. The paint of claim 14, wherein said SMA particles are distributed randomly and generally uniformly throughout said base paint.
- 18. The paint of claim 14, wherein said SMA particles comprise a shape in accordance with one of a group of shapes comprising: a sphere; an oval; and a cylinder.
- 19. The paint of claim 14, wherein said SMA particles comprise at least about 1.0% by volume of said base paint.
- 20. The paint of claim 14, wherein said SMA particles comprise between about 1.0% and about 50% by volume of said base paint.
- 21. The paint of claim 14, wherein said SMA particles comprise granules interspersed randomly throughout said base paint.
- 22. The paint of claim 14, wherein said SMA particles comprise NITINOL® alloy particles in their martensitic phase.
- 23. The paint of claim 14, wherein said SMA particles comprise NITINOL® alloy particles in their martensitic phase.
- 24. The paint of claim 14, wherein said SMA particles comprise a size of at least about 50 microns.
- 25. The paint of claim 14, wherein said SMA particles comprise a size of no more than about 0.005 microns.
- 26. A protective outer coating adapted to applied in a liquid form to an outer surface of a component, said protecting coating comprising:
a flowable base compound; a plurality of NITINOL® alloy particles interspersed randomly and uniformly throughout said base coating; said NITINOL® alloy particles being provided in one of said austenitic and martensitic phases; and wherein said NITINOL® alloy particles serve to improve an impact resistance of said base paint without negatively impacting an ability to apply said protective outer coating to said outer surface of said component.
- 27. The protective outer coating of claim 26, wherein said NITINOL alloy particles comprise a diameter of between about 50 microns and about 0.005 microns.
- 28. The protective outer coating of claim 26, wherein said NITINOL® alloy particles comprise at least about 1.0% by volume of said base compound.
- 29. The protective outer coating of claim 26, wherein said NITINOL® alloy particles comprise between about 1.0% and about 50% by volume of said base compound.
- 30. The protective outer coating of claim 26, wherein said NITINOL® alloy particles comprise a spherical shape.
- 31. The protective outer coating of claim 26, wherein said NITINOL® alloy particles comprise an oval shape.
- 32. The protective outer coating of claim 26, wherein said a NITINOL® alloy particles comprise a cylindrical shape.
- 33. The protective outer coating of claim 26, wherein said NITINOL® alloy particles comprise a size of at least about 50 microns.
- 34. The protective outer coating of claim 26, wherein said NITINOL® alloy particles comprise a size of no more than about 0.005 microns.
- 35. The protective outer coating of claim 26, wherein said NITINOL® alloy particles comprise granules interspersed randomly and uniformly throughout said base compound.
- 36. The protective outer coating of claim 26, wherein said protective outer coating comprises a paint.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation-in-part of pending U.S. Ser. No. 10/287,561, filed Nov. 4, 2002 and presently pending.
Continuation in Parts (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
10287561 |
Nov 2002 |
US |
Child |
10674930 |
Sep 2003 |
US |