Low Earth Orbital Atomic Oxygen Interactions with Materials

Banks, Bruce A.; Miller, Sharon K.; Groh, Kim K. de

doi:10.2514/6.2004-5638

Cited by 46 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…As a result, it is thought to have a probability of approximately 14 % for reacting upon initial impact with materials such as carbon [4] or polyimide Kapton H [5]. The amount of erosion of polymers is equal to the product of the erosion yield of the polymer and the atomic oxygen fluence.…”

Section: Organic Materials Interaction With Atomic Oxygenmentioning

confidence: 99%

Low Earth Orbital Atomic Oxygen Interactions with Spacecraft Materials

2004

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Atomic oxygen, formed in Earth's thermosphere, interacts readily with many materials on spacecraft flying in low Earth orbit (LEO). All hydrocarbon based polymers and graphite are easily oxidized upon the impact of ∼4.5 eV atomic oxygen as the spacecraft ram into the residual atmosphere. The resulting interactions can change the morphology and reduce the thickness of these materials. Directed atomic oxygen erosion will result in the development of textured surfaces on all materials with volatile oxidation products. Examples from space flight samples are provided. As a result of the erosive properties of atomic oxygen on polymers and composites, protective coatings have been developed and are used to increase the functional life of polymer films and composites that are exposed to the LEO environment. The atomic oxygen erosion yields for actual and predicted LEO exposure of numerous materials are presented. Results of in-space exposure of vacuum deposited aluminum protective coatings on polyimide Kapton indicate high rates of degradation are associated with aluminum coatings on both surfaces of the Kapton. Computational modeling predictions indicate that less trapping of the atomic oxygen occurs, with less resulting damage, if only the space-exposed surface is coated with vapor deposited aluminum rather than having both surfaces coated.

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Section: Organic Materials Interaction With Atomic Oxygenmentioning

confidence: 99%

Low Earth Orbital Atomic Oxygen Interactions with Spacecraft Materials

2004

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“…Atomic oxygen is present in the atmosphere surrounding the Earth at altitudes where satellites typically orbit and is chemically reactive with surfaces or deposits that contain carbon [1,2]. The reaction converts the carbon to volatile species such as carbon monoxide.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The reaction converts the carbon to volatile species such as carbon monoxide. Ground based facilities, developed for durability testing of satellite materials to atomic oxygen, dissociate molecular oxygen into atomic oxygen by radio frequency (RF) electric fields, microwave radiation or electron bombardment, typically under a partial vacuum between 0.027 and 20 Pa (2×10 -4 to 0.15 torr) depending on the process [3,4]. For the atomic oxygen treatment discussed in this paper, both large and small area RF facilities were used to remove soot and char as described in references 5 and 6, while spot cleaning and removal of graffiti and marks were performed using a DC arc device operated at atmospheric pressure as described in reference 7.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Atomic Oxygen Treatment and Its Effect on a Variety of Artist's Media

2004

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Atomic oxygen treatment has been investigated as an unconventional option for art restoration where conventional methods have not been effective. Exposure of surfaces to atomic oxygen was first performed to investigate the durability of materials in the low Earth orbit environment of space. The use of the ground based environmental simulation chambers, developed for atomic oxygen exposure testing, has been investigated in collaboration with conservators at a variety of institutions, as a method to clean the surfaces of works of art. The atomic oxygen treatment technique has been evaluated as a method to remove soot and char from the surface of oil paint (both varnished and unvarnished), watercolors, acrylic paint, and fabric as well as the removal of graffiti and other marks from surfaces which are too porous to lend themselves to conventional solvent removal techniques. This paper will discuss the treatment of these surfaces giving an example of each and a discussion of the treatment results.

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“…incredibly hard to predict the number density of AO at a given altiude. 5 The solar minimums and maximums occur on a 11 year cycle causing much variation in the annual AO density. This changes the AO flux, the rate that particles pass through a given area, measured as atoms/cm 2 /s, witnessed by a spacecraft.…”

Section: Materials Interaction With Atomic Oxygen and Ultraviolet mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…AO is corrosive because the collision energy is enough to break bonds causing the erosion of surface materials via the loss of oxidations products. 5 The reaction efficiency of AO erosion is measured in the volumetric loss per incident oxygen atom, cm 3 /atom, which will also alter the thermal absorptance and emittance of said material. AO will oxidize surface layers, and can form either volatile or non-volatile oxides.…”

Section: Materials Interaction With Atomic Oxygen and Ultraviolet mentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of a Ground Based Atomic Oxygen and Vacuum Ultraviolet Radiation Simulation Apparatus

Glicklin¹

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Low Earth Orbital Atomic Oxygen Interactions with Materials

Cited by 46 publications

References 16 publications

Low Earth Orbital Atomic Oxygen Interactions with Spacecraft Materials

Low Earth Orbital Atomic Oxygen Interactions with Spacecraft Materials

Atomic Oxygen Treatment and Its Effect on a Variety of Artist's Media

Development of a Ground Based Atomic Oxygen and Vacuum Ultraviolet Radiation Simulation Apparatus

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