Radiation-induced charging of spacecraft coatings depends on material properties such as resistivity, dielectric constant, and photoelectron and secondary electron emission. Surface charging of a spacecraft is a complex phenomenon that depends on these material properties, as well as spacecraft geometry, orientation, sunlight intensity and distribution, temperature, and radiation environment. Ceramics can be problematic as spacecraft coatings due to their potential to store charge and develop differential voltage potentials. This paper examines the relative charging between a bare kohlencarbon-carbon heat shield and one coated with Al2O3 in near solar (0.3 AU), Jovian, and deep space (2.5 AU, 5 AU) radiation environments, corresponding to points along a notional Solar Probe trajectory. Findings indicate that when modeled as a simple conical heat shield, the carbon structure alone does not develop a differential potential, whereas the Al2O3 does, primarily in the cold Jovian environment. However, differential charging appears to be mitigated by photoelectron and secondary electron emission from the Al2O3. The electrical conductivity of the ceramic increases near the sun due to increasing temperature, thus enabling equilibration of charge. The results of this study reject the initial hypothesis that electrically insulating coatings will create insurmountable charging issues for solar missions. Trajectory-dependent spacecraft illumination and temperature can be used to exploit desirable characteristics of the ceramic such as emission and conductivity, thus mitigating the problem. Integrated spacecraft charging simulations are planned.


    Zugriff

    Zugriff über TIB

    Verfügbarkeit in meiner Bibliothek prüfen

    Bestellung bei Subito €


    Exportieren, teilen und zitieren



    Titel :

    Charging of ceramic materials due to space-based radiation environment


    Beteiligte:
    Sample, Jennifer L. (Autor:in) / Nedungadi, Ashish (Autor:in) / Wilkerson, Jordan (Autor:in) / King, Don (Autor:in) / Drewry, David (Autor:in) / Potocki, Ken (Autor:in) / Eng, Doug (Autor:in)


    Erscheinungsdatum :

    2007


    Format / Umfang :

    8 Seiten, 3 Bilder, 1 Tabelle, 9 Quellen




    Medientyp :

    Aufsatz (Konferenz)


    Format :

    Print


    Sprache :

    Englisch





    Charging of Ceramic Coatings in Space

    Sample, Jennifer / Donegan, Michelle / Wolf, Tom et al. | AIAA | 2007


    Space Radiation Environment

    Townsend, Lawrence W. | Springer Verlag | 2021


    The Space Radiation Environment

    Robbins, D. E. / National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements | British Library Conference Proceedings | 1997


    Charging of Composites in The Space Environment

    Czepiela, S. / Hastings, D. / McManus, H. et al. | British Library Conference Proceedings | 1997