Technologies and Research
Space Environment Simulation
- Atomic oxygen durability testing
- Ultraviolet durability testing
- Lunar dust adhesion testing
- Mars atmosphere chemistry interaction testing
- Thermal cycling durability testing
- Synergistic low Earth orbital durability testing
- Contamination evaluation
- Low temperature electronics performance evaluation
Space Experimentation
- Materials International Space Station Experiment, MISSE
Atomic Oxygen
- Atomic oxygen cleaning of material surfaces
- Restoration of soot and fire damaged paintings and art objects
- Surface chemical cleaning and morphology modification of polymer surfaces for improved bonding
- Biofilm retardation and sterilization
Surface Texturing of Materials
- Improved heat transfer for space power system radiator surfaces
- Increased cellular attachment and fixation to implants
- Surfaces for enhanced cell culturing
- Increased diffuse light transmittance
- Uniform fiber optic illumination
- Alteration of wettability
- Reduced friction surfaces for elastomers
- Increased solar absorptance
- Increased thermal emittance
- Improved adhesive bonding of polymers, metals, and composites
- Improved paintability
- Catalytic surfaces
- High emittance heat receiver and radiator surfaces
High Performance Power Materials
- High electrical conductivity composites
- Electromagnetic interference shielding
- Lightweight substitutes for aluminum electronics enclosures
- Arc proof solar array surfaces
- High emittance heat receiver and radiator surfaces
Optical and Thermal Property Measurement
- Solar absorptance measurement
- Thermal emittance measurement
- Specular, diffuse, and total spectral transmittance, reflectance and absorptance
- Measurements in ultraviolet, visible, near infra-red and infra-red
Coatings
- Thin film coatings
- Coating processing and optimization
- Arc-proof solar array surfaces
- Atomic oxygen durability / protection
- Optical property alteration
- Thermal control surfaces
- Improved abrasion resistance
- Increased water repelling
- Anti-fogging
- Wear resistance
- Chemical barriers
- Oxygen barriers over polymers
- Moisture barriers over polymers
- Dry film lubrication
- Controlled surface conductivity
- High infrared transmittance
- Ultraviolet light absorption
- Antimicrobial surfaces
- Thermal spray and plasma spray-physical vapor deposition of coatings
- Lamellar and columnar structures for material protection
- Non-line of sight processing
- High strain-to-failure mixed fluoropolymer and metal oxide films
- Development of thermal and environmental barrier coatings for extreme environments
- Design of experiments for optimal microstructure and chemistry
Aerospace Environment Testing
- High temperature oxidation of materials in steam and air
- Thermal gradient testing and characterization
- References
Theoretical Modeling
- Density functional theory
- Molecular dynamics
- Machine learning
- Empirical modeling
- Applications
- References:
- Thermodynamics of high-temperature aluminum, zirconium, and yttrium hydroxide and oxyhydroxide vapor species
- Thermodynamics of the Lu2O3 – SiO2 system and comparison to other rare earth silicates
- An Ensemble Neural Network Model for Predicting Rare-Earth Oxide and Silicate Heat Capacities at High Temperature
- Influence of Cation Species on Thermal Expansion of Y2Si2O7–Gd2Si2O7 Solid Solutions