Regolith Particle Erosion of Material in Aerospace Environments

Emma Bradford, Jason Rabinovitch, Mohamed Abid

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

5 Scopus citations

Abstract

This paper studies the effect of exposing thermal control S13GP:6N/LO-I white paint, Kapton flex cable, fiber optic cable, HEPA filter, and M55J graphite composite to high-velocity regolith environment that spacecraft landing on Mars are commonly exposed to. Due to the similarity between the Mars 2020 Rover design and Mars Science Laboratory design, it is expected that the Mars 2020 rover will be exposed to a similar high-speed regolith environment that the Mars Science Laboratory was exposed to. This environment is replicated to test the survivability of susceptible materials. The testing is performed at the University of Dayton Research Institute in Dayton, Ohio. The experiments expose different materials to basaltic-like particles ranging in size from approximately 40 μm to 2 cm, at velocities ranging from 19 m/s to 250 m/s, with varied particle fluxes (measured in mg/cm2), Depending on the size of the particle used, the particles can either embed in or Erode the material. Posttest analysis shows that all materials tested will survive the expected environment observed during the Mars 2020 landing event. Some materials are tested to failure in order to better characterize material response. Materials that fail in some test scenarios include the paint, fiber optic cable, and the graphite composite. After being exposed to regolith, the α/ϵ, ratio of the paint increased by 37% due to particles embedding in the paint. Darkening of the paint can negatively affect thermal control of the rover. With high particle mass fluxes, the paint eventually degraded enough to expose the aluminum substrate. When impacted by a 1.5 cm particle traveling at 20 m/s, the fiber optic cable did not sever, but the impact did cause the cable to deform enough to crack the glass, which resulted in a significant increase in attenuation, rendering the cable unable to transmit data. The graphite composite also failed when exposed to high particle fluxes. All of the observed failures occurred for test cases above the expected landing environment with significant margin. Tests performed beyond the requirements help characterize how well these materials will survive in even more extreme environments for future missions.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publication2019 IEEE Aerospace Conference, AERO 2019
ISBN (Electronic)9781538668542
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 2019
Event2019 IEEE Aerospace Conference, AERO 2019 - Big Sky, United States
Duration: 2 Mar 20199 Mar 2019

Publication series

NameIEEE Aerospace Conference Proceedings
Volume2019-March
ISSN (Print)1095-323X

Conference

Conference2019 IEEE Aerospace Conference, AERO 2019
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityBig Sky
Period2/03/199/03/19

Keywords

  • HEPA
  • M2020
  • MSL
  • Mars
  • composite
  • erosion
  • fiber optic cable
  • flex cable
  • thermal control paint

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