Ani Kamer Ph.D. Candidate Department of Materials Science and Engineering Stanford University Phone: 650-725-2643 Office: Durand Bldg., Rm. 157 Email: anikam@stanford.edu

Educational Background

Research Interests

Adhesion Properties of Transparent Hard Coatings on Plastics

Polymers are replacing silica glass in many applications such as eyeglass lenses and aircraft passenger windows. Although they are attractive for their light weight and high toughness polymers are subject to scratching and crazing, which significantly diminishes their service life. A solution is to apply a hard coating on the polymer surface.

Applications of hard coatings

•   Metal surfaces: corrosion and graffiti protection

•   Lenses: scratching

•   Airplane windows: scratching, water absorption, crazing

The adhesion of the hard coating to the soft substrate is a major problem especially in the aerospace industry. The delamination of the hard protective coating off airplane windows results in deterioration of transparency and sometimes the whole window has to be replaced, which is a very expensive procedure.

Our research is focusing on the adhesion properties of polysiloxane based hard coatings on poly (methyl methacrylate) substrates. We have developed a reproducible method for the controlled delamination of the hard coatings using thin film fracture mechanics techniques.

We are investigating effects of weathering on adhesion. Significant differences between the adhesion of used and new coatings have been observed.