NASA NTRS · 19870051367
Degradation studies of SMRM teflon
Abstract
Teflon samples returned from the Solar Max Satellite (SMS) suffered noticeable damage such as cracking and yellowing. This is in contrast to teflon exposed aboard STS-5 and STS-8 which showed no detectable changes. Selected teflon tape samples from SMS were studied to evaluate the extent and mechanism of degradation. ESCA studies revealed that these teflon samples contain hydrocarbon segments which were susceptible to oxygen atom degradation. Mechanical measurements also showed bulk property changes as a result of LEO exposure. A molecular model of material and energetic oxygen atom interaction was proposed. SMS data and the importance of developing correlation between accelerated exposure data from STS and ground-based testing and real time data will be presented.
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Liang, Ranty H., Oda, Keri L., Chung, Shirley Y., Gupta, Amitava. 1986-01-01. Degradation studies of SMRM teflon. https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/19870051367
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