EROSION PROTECTION OF POLYMER MATERIALS IN SPACE

摘要

A three-step silylation process was developed for protection of polymers from erosion in space. The process, known as PHOTOSIL?, was shown to provide with a two order-of-magnitude reduction in erosion yield under fast atomic oxygen exposure for a variety of materials including: Kapton?, Mylar?, PEEK, polyethylene, PVC, polyamide, graphite reinforced PEEK and epoxy composites, and the graphite fibres themselves. The PHOTOSIL? process appears to be capable of providing this type of protection at a reasonable cost on a large-scale. A second technique, based on ion implantation and known as IMPLANTOX?, was developed for the same purpose. IMPLANTOX? was used for studying the ability of selected ions to create highly resistant surface structures under fast atomic oxygen fluxes. The implantation of silicon, and/or aluminum or their combinations with boron produced a stable, graded, chemically bonded, self-healing layer, which assures high performance of treated materials without deterioration in long duration space missions.