Constructing Spacecraft Components Using Additive Manufacturing and Atomic Layer Deposition: First Steps for Integrated Electric Circuitry
Publication: Journal of Aerospace Engineering
Volume 34, Issue 5
Abstract
Many fields, including the aerospace industry, have shown increased interest in the use of plastics to lower the mass of systems. However, the use of plastics in space can be challenging for a number of reasons. Ultraviolet radiation, atomic oxygen, and other phenomena specifically associated with space cause the degradation of polymers. Here we show a path toward creation of space-grade components by combining additive manufacturing (AM) and atomic layer deposition (ALD). Our method produced ALD coated thermoplastic parts suitable for space applications. The highlight of this work is a significant reduction in outgassing, demonstrated using residual gas analyzer (RGA) sampling. Compared to uncoated parts, the ALD coating decreased the outgassing of polyether ether ketone (PEEK), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polycarbonate (PC), and nanodiamond-doped polylactide (ND-PLA) by 46%, 49%, 58%, and 65%, respectively. The manufacturing method used in this work enables the use of topology optimization already in the early concept creation phase. The method is ideally suited for spacecraft applications, in which the volume and mass of parts is critical, and could also be adapted for in-space manufacturing.
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Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code generated or used during the study are available from the corresponding author upon request. This includes RGA measurements, laboratory notes, and pictures.
Acknowledgments
We thank the European Space Agency (ESA), who has supported parts of this research as part of the HighPEEK project (ESA Contract No. 4000127834/19/UK/AB). In particular, Ugo Lafont and Paul Greenway (ESA) have our gratitude. We also deeply appreciate the help given by Daniel Leese (exchange student at Aalto University), Kirsi Kukko, Ashish Mohite and Olli Knuuttila (Aalto University), Lorenz Schmuckli and Pekka Rummukainen (Aalto University, retired), and Katja Väyrynen and Marko Vehkamäki (University of Helsinki).
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© 2021 American Society of Civil Engineers.
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Received: Sep 6, 2020
Accepted: Mar 9, 2021
Published online: May 20, 2021
Published in print: Sep 1, 2021
Discussion open until: Oct 20, 2021
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