scholarly journals In Situ Measurement of Carbon Fibre/Polyether Ether Ketone Thermal Expansion in Low Earth Orbit

Aerospace ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Farhan Abdullah ◽  
Kei-ichi Okuyama ◽  
Isai Fajardo ◽  
Naoya Urakami
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Expansion ◽  
Carbon Fibre ◽  
Material Science ◽  
Low Earth Orbit ◽  
Earth Orbit ◽  
Small Satellite ◽  
Polyether Ether Ketone ◽  
Ether Ketone ◽  
Orbit Data

The low Earth orbit (LEO) environment exposes spacecraft to factors that can degrade the dimensional stability of the structure. Carbon Fibre/Polyether Ether Ketone (CF/PEEK) can limit such degradations. However, there are limited in-orbit data on the performance of CF/PEEK. Usage of small satellite as material science research platform can address such limitations. This paper discusses the design of a material science experiment termed material mission (MM) onboard Ten-Koh satellite, which allows in situ measurements of coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) for CF/PEEK samples in LEO. Results from ground tests before launch demonstrated the feasibility of the MM design. Analysis of in-orbit data indicated that the CTE values exhibit a non-linear temperature dependence, and there was no shift in CTE values after four months. The acquired in-orbit data was consistent with previous ground tests and in-orbit data. The MM experiment provides data to verify the ground test of CF/PEEK performance in LEO. MM also proved the potential of small satellite as a platform for conducting meaningful material science experiments.

The effects of adding carbon nanotubes to the mechanical and tribological properties of a carbon fibre reinforced polyether ether ketone composite

2009 ◽  
Vol 223 (11) ◽  
pp. 2501-2507 ◽  
Author(s):  
J Li ◽  
L Q Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Nanotubes ◽  
Wear Resistance ◽  
Carbon Fibre ◽  
Vinyl Ester ◽  
High Wear Resistance ◽  
Compression Moulding ◽  
Mechanical And Tribological Properties ◽  
Polyether Ether Ketone ◽  
Carbon Nano Tubes ◽  
Ether Ketone

The main objective of this article is to develop a high wear resistance carbon fibre (CF)-reinforced polyether ether ketone composite with the addition of multi-wall carbon nano-tubes (MWCNT). These compounds were well mixed in a Haake batch mixer and compounded polymers were fabricated into sheets of known thickness by compression moulding. Samples were tested for wear resistance with respect to different concentrations of fillers. Wear resistance of a composite with 20 wt% of CF increases when MWCNT was introduced. The worn surface features have been examined using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Photomicrographs of the worn surfaces revealed higher wear resistance with the addition of carbon nanotubes. Also better interfacial adhesion between carbon and vinyl ester in a carbon-reinforced vinyl ester composite was observed.

Thermal Expansion of Polyether Ether Ketone Bearing Components

2019 ◽  
Vol 64 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bryan D. Allison ◽  
Connor M. Vanderwiel
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Expansion ◽  
Elevated Temperatures ◽  
Coefficient Of Thermal Expansion ◽  
Aerospace Applications ◽  
Polyether Ether Ketone ◽  
Molded Parts ◽  
Injection Molded ◽  
Ether Ketone ◽  
Bearing Design ◽  
Strong Candidate

Carbon fiber–reinforced polyether ether ketone (PEEK) is a strong candidate for aerospace bearing cages due to its low density and good mechanical properties. However, there are still concerns regarding its performance at the elevated temperatures seen in aerospace applications. In particular, an accurate measurement of PEEK's coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) is critical to proper bearing design. In this paper, the CTE of as-manufactured PEEK cages was measured to determine the range of CTE that can be expected for production parts. A range of cage sizes and designs were considered in this study. Components that were manufactured from stock shapes through subtractive methods were studied in addition to components made via injection molding. The CTE of machined PEEK was found to be significantly higher than that of injection-molded PEEK and also varied significantly from part to part. In contrast, the CTE of molded PEEK cages was found to be fairly consistent between parts. Finally, the CTE of PEEK was found to increase above the glass transition temperature of 143 °C, but it was demonstrated that this increase is relatively small for injection-molded parts.

scholarly journals Combustion Synthesis Technology for a Sustainable Settlement Overnight

2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 3
Author(s):  
Osamu Odawara
Keyword(s):  
Combustion Synthesis ◽  
Resource Utilization ◽  
High Vacuum ◽  
Thermal Control ◽  
Low Earth Orbit ◽  
Earth Orbit ◽  
The Moon ◽  
The Earth

Space technology has been developed for frontier exploration not only in low-earth orbit environment but also beyond the earth orbit to the Moon and Mars, where material resources might be strongly restricted and almost impossible to be resupplied from the earth for distant and long-term missions performance toward “long-stays of humans in space”. For performing such long-term space explorations, none would be enough to develop technologies with resources only from the earth; it should be required to utilize resources on other places with different nature of the earth, i.e., in-situ resource utilization. One of important challenges of lunar in-situ resource utilization is thermal control of spacecraft on lunar surface for long-lunar durations. Such thermal control under “long-term field operation” would be solved by “thermal wadis” studied as a part of sustainable researches on overnight survivals such as lunar-night. The resources such as metal oxides that exist on planets or satellites could be refined, and utilized as a supply of heat energy, where combustion synthesis can stand as a hopeful technology for such requirements. The combustion synthesis technology is mainly characterized with generation of high-temperature, spontaneous propagation of reaction, rapid synthesis and high operability under various influences with centrifugal-force, low-gravity and high vacuum. These concepts, technologies and hardware would be applicable to both the Moon and Mars, and these capabilities might achieve the maximum benefits of in-situ resource utilization with the aid of combustion synthesis applications. The present paper mainly concerns the combustion synthesis technologies for sustainable lunar overnight survivals by focusing on “potential precursor synthesis and formation”, “in-situ resource utilization in extreme environments” and “exergy loss minimization with efficient energy conversion”.

In-Situ Resource Utilization

2019 ◽  
pp. 193-210
Author(s):  
Claas Tido Olthoff ◽  
Philipp Reiss
Keyword(s):  
Solar System ◽  
Resource Utilization ◽  
Local Environment ◽  
Low Earth Orbit ◽  
Background Information ◽  
Earth Orbit ◽  
Use Of Resources ◽  
Exploration Mission ◽  
The Cost

Human spaceflight is an expensive endeavor. Every kilogram that needs to be transported to low Earth orbit or beyond costs tens of thousands of dollars, with the cost increasing exponentially the farther humanity extends its reach into the solar system and beyond. It is therefore prudent, if not necessary, to consider the use of resources that are available at the destination of a given exploration mission. This concept is called in-situ resource utilization (ISRU). The processes that are required to extract useful materials from the local environment can not only be used to support a human crew, but also to obtain resources that are of value on Earth and can thus be returned there for commercial gain. This chapter provides background information on ISRU in general and discusses the most important technologies and processes that are currently employed or under development.

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