Investigation of Atomic Oxygen Corrosion of Satellite Components Coating Under Equivalent LEO Orbit Conditions

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Maedeh sadat Zoei 1
hadi gorabi 2
mohammadreza asharf khorasani 2
saeed asghari 2
S. Javid Mirahmadi 3
1 Faculty Member/Institute of Materials and Energy/Iranian Space Research Center/ Isfahan/ Iran
2 Institute of Materials and Energy, Iranian Space Research Center, Isfahan, Iran
3 Faculty Member/Institute of Materials and Energy
10.22034/jssta.2021.249059.1006
Abstract
Space systems in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) expose to the destructive parameter of atomic oxygen. In long-term missions, the rate of degradation of the material resulting from the reaction with atomic oxygen is significant and reduces the performance of the structure. Due to the harmful effects of atomic oxygen on materials, the choice of atomic oxygen resistant materials or the use of durable surface coatings is very common. In this study, the corrosion resistance of atomic oxygen of an interconnector part of a solar cell has studied by applying a silicone base coating. In order to investigate the corrosion behavior of atomic oxygen, ground test method with equivalent conditions of LEO orbit has used by DC plasma equipment. Initially, the parameters of the atomic oxygen corrosion ground test determined under the equivalent conditions of the LEO orbit. The results of atomic oxygen application in this study showed that the amount of atomic oxygen erosion yield of silicon coating is significantly lower than the amount of atomic oxygen erosion yield of silver substrate. The study of the coating surface after applying atomic oxygen by SEM images led to the determination of the optimal coating thickness. EDX results showed that after applying atomic oxygen, no significant change in the chemical composition of the coating has achieved
Keywords
Atomic oxygen corrosion# LEO orbit# Silicon coati135ng
Subjects
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Space Science, Technology and Applications
Volume 1, Issue 1 - Serial Number 1
September 2021
Pages 126-135

  • Receive Date 21 September 2020
  • Revise Date 25 June 2021
  • Accept Date 25 July 2021