The Effect of Martian Dust on Radiator Performance

Abstract

B s m c TResults show that as dust was addedtothe radiatorsurfjlces, the effective emittance of the h i g h -e m i i coatings decxead from near 0.9 to a value of .bout 0.5. A lowemittance control surface, polished aluminum, demonstrated a rise in effective emittance for thin dust layers, and then a decline as the dust layer thickened. This behavior is attributed to the conductive resistancecaused by thedust layer.

Reduction in emittance of thermal radiator coatings caused by the accumulation of a Martian dust simulant

“…Results were obtained under vacuum conditions sufficient to reduce convection effects virtually to zero. An earlier conference paper [5] gave an in-progress reporting of the work. The results presented in the present article benefit from a larger baseline data set and an improved emittance calibration model.…”