Multiparameter Single Sensor for Space Silicone Adhesive Monitoring Under High-Vacuum Ultraviolet Exposure

Luigi Fazzi, Nuno Dias, Malgorzata Holynska, Adrian P. Tighe, Riccardo Rampini, Roger M. Groves

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

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Abstract

Tilted fiber Bragg grating (TFBG) sensors were demonstrated to simultaneously measure the material thermomechanical and refractometric state in which they are embedded. In this work, for the first time, TFBGs are investigated for three-parameter monitoring of space-qualified NuSil® CV16-2500 silicone operating during high-vacuum ultraviolet (UV) exposure. The first part of the work is focused on the ultraviolet effect on the TFBG spectrum when the sensor is 1) directly exposed to the radiation, 2) covered by a thin cover glass, and with a Kapton layer on top. Successively, the silicone is used as an adhesive in a sandwich structure in which the TFBGs are embedded and exposed under high vacuum to various UV/vacuum UV intensity radiations and durations. The sensors’ spectra were acquired and demodulated to detect the silicone strain-temperature-refractive index variations and correlate the silicone refractometric changes with the equivalent exposure solar hours. The second part of the paper is on silicone degradation state evaluation using the same sensor but during a direct exposure of the adhesive to the radiation. This allowed the UV effects on the silicone to be enhanced but needed a method to compensate for the damaging effect of UV radiation on the TFBG spectrum.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)740-752
Number of pages13
JournalJournal of Spacecraft and Rockets
Volume60
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2023

Bibliographical note

Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository ‘You share, we take care!’ – Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public

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