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NASA NTRS1995

Space Station water degradation study covering the first 24 months of exposure

This report describes the MSFC space station water degradation study (WDS) and presents interim results from the first 24 months of testing. The WDS simulates the stagnant storage of water in distribution lines before the activation of the space station's water processor by storing processed water at ambient temperature in valved sections of 1-in stainless steel and titanium tube. The WDS seeks to determine whether the water quality will degrade unacceptably and whether microbial growth will proceed to an unmanageable extent during extended stagnation. During the first 24 months, significant changes have occurred. Although iodine, which is used as a biocide, was nearly depleted within the first 6 months of testing, microbial growth has been minimal. This report describes the decrease in iodine concentration and the results of microbial and biofilm analyses. Increases in total organic carbon, iodide, chloride, nickel, iron, and chromium concentrations are presented and discussed. The observed increase in conductivity and the decreases in pH and turbidity are also presented. The authors conclude that, with proper preparation, potable water can be stored under stagnant conditions without unmanageable degradation in water quality; a flushing operation and subsequent processing of the degraded water should render the water system ready for use.

Mcright, P. S.↗

NASA NTRS1997

A Comparison of Atomic Oxygen Degradation in Low Earth Orbit and in a Plasma Etcher

In low Earth orbit (LEO) significant degradation of certain materials occurs from exposure to atomic oxygen (AO). Orbital opportunities to study this degradation for specific materials are limited and expensive. While plasma etchers are commonly used in ground-based studies because of their low cost and convenience, the environment produced in an etcher chamber differs greatly from the LEO environment. Because of the differences in environment, the validity of using etcher data has remained an open question. In this paper, degradation data for 22 materials from the orbital experiment Evaluation of Oxygen Interaction with Materials (EOIM-3) are compared with data from EOIM-3 control specimens exposed in a typical plasma etcher. This comparison indicates that, when carefully considered, plasma etcher results can produce order-of-magnitude estimates of orbital degradation. This allows the etcher to be used to screen unacceptable materials from further, more expensive tests.

Townsend, Jacqueline A.↗

NASA NTRS2001

Degradation of MODIS Optics and its Reflective Solar Bands Calibration

The MODerate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) has 36 spectral bands with wavelength ranging from 0.41 micron to 14.5 micron and spatial resolution between 0.25, 0.5, and 1.0 km at Nadir. Its ProtoFlight Model (PFM) on the NASA EOS Terra spacecraft has been providing global coverage of the Land, Ocean, and Atmosphere for the science community since the instrument opened its Nadir door on 24 February 2000. The MODIS optical system consists of a 2-sided paddle wheel scan mirror, a fold mirror, a primary mirror, and other aft optics. The sensor's 20 reflective solar bands from 0.41 to 2.1 micron are calibrated on-orbit by a solar diffuser (SD) and a solar diffuser stability monitor (SDSM). In addition to SD, degradation of the MODIS optics in the reflective solar bands has been observed, including variations in degradation between the two sides of the MODIS scan mirror. During MODIS first year of on-orbit operation, the overall degradations at the shortest wavelength (0.41 micron) are about 3% for SD, and in excess of 10% for the MODIS system. In this paper, we will present our degradation analysis results and discuss their impact on the reflective solar bands' on-orbit calibration.

Xiong, X.↗

NASA NTRS2001

Landform Degradation and Slope Processes on Io: The Galileo View

The Galileo mission has revealed remarkable evidence of mass movement and landform degradation on Io. We recognize four major slope types observed on a number of intermediate resolution (250 m/pixel) images and several additional textures on very high resolution (10 m/pixel) images. Slopes and scarps on Io often show evidence of erosion, seen in the simplest form as alcove-carving slumps and slides at all scales. Many of the mass movement deposits on Io are probably mostly the consequence of block release and brittle slope failure. Sputtering plays no significant role. Sapping as envisioned by McCauley et al. remains viable. We speculate that alcove-lined canyons seen in one observation and lobed deposits seen along the bases of scarps in several locations may reflect the plastic deformation and 'glacial' flow of interstitial volatiles (e.g., SO2) heated by locally high geothermal energy to mobilize the volatile. The appearance of some slopes and near-slope surface textures seen in very high resolution images is consistent with erosion from sublimation-degradation. However, a suitable volatile (e.g., H2S) that can sublimate fast enough to alter Io's youthful surface has not been identified. Disaggregation from chemical decomposition of solid S2O and other polysulfur oxides may conceivably operate on Io. This mechanism could degrade landforms in a manner that resembles degradation from sublimation, and at a rate that can compete with resurfacing.

Moore, Jeffrey M.↗

NASA NTRS2002

Cause and Effects of Fluorocarbon Degradation in Electronics and Opto-Electronic Systems

Trace degradation of fluorocarbon or halocarbon materials must be addressed in their application in sensitive systems. As the dimensions and/or tolerances of components in a system decrease, the sensitivity of the system to trace fluorocarbon or halocarbon degradation products increases. Trace quantities of highly reactive degradation products from fluorocarbons have caused a number of failures of flight hardware. It is of utmost importance that the risk of system failure, resulting from trace amounts of reactive fluorocarbon degradation products be addressed in designs containing fluorocarbon or halocarbon materials. Thermal, electrical, and mechanical energy input into the system can multiply the risk of failure.

Predmore, Roamer E.↗

NASA NTRS2003

Thermal Contributions to the Degradation of Ground Laboratory and Space Irradiated Teflon

The aluminized Teflon fluorinated ethylene propylene outer most layer of the multilayer insulation blankets on the Hubble Space Telescope has become embrittled resulting in severe on-orbit cracking. During the second servicing mission, a piece of aluminized fluorinated ethylene propylene was retrieved that had curled, exposing the back-surface aluminum to space. This extremely embrittled piece reached 200 C on-orbit, 150 C higher than the nominal temperature extreme. Therefore, experiments have been conducted to determine the effect of heating on the degradation of fluorinated ethylene propylene that has been irradiated in a ground laboratory facility or in space on Hubble Space Telescope. Samples of pristine, x-ray irradiated and Hubble Space Telescope retrieved fluorinated ethylene propylene were heat treated from 50 to 200 C at 25 C intervals in a high vacuum facility and tensile tested. Density measurements were also obtained. Results indicate that heating does not embrittle non-irradiated Teflon. However, there is a significant dependence of the embrittlement of irradiated Teflon on heating temperature, with near complete loss of elongation at 100 C and higher. Rate of degradation changes, which were consistent with the glass transition temperature for fluorinated ethylene propylene, were present in the data. The results support chain scission as the primary mechanism of degradation of fluorinated ethylene propylene on Hubble Space Telescope, and indicate the significance of the on-orbit temperature of fluorinated ethylene propylene with respect to its degradation in the space environment.

deGroh, Kim K.↗

NASA NTRS2003

Biogeochemical Cycles in Degraded Lands

The objectives of this project were to define and describe the types of landscapes that fall under the broad category of "degraded lands" and to study biogeochemical cycles across this range of degradation found in secondary forests. We define degraded land as that which has lost part of its capacity of renovation of a productive ecosystem, either in the context of agroecosystems or as native communities of vegetation. This definition of degradation permits evaluation of biogeochemical constraints to future land uses.

Davidson, Eric A.↗

NASA NTRS2004

Biogeochemical Cycles in Degraded Lands

Davidson, Eric A.↗

NASA NTRS2005

Chemical evolution of RNA under hydrothermal conditions and the role of thermal copolymers of amino acids for the prebiotic degradation and formation of RNA

The roles of thermal copolymers of amino acids (TCAA) were studied for the prebiotic degradation of RNA. A weak catalytic ability of TCAA consisted of Glu, L-Ala, L-Val, L-Glu, L-Asp, and optionally L-His was detected for the cleavage of the ribose phosphodiester bond of a tetranucleotide (5'-dCrCdGdG) in aqueous solution at 80 degees C. The rate constants of the disappearance of 5'-dCrCdGdG were determined in aqueous solutions using different pH buffer and TCAA. The degradation rates were enhanced 1.3-3.0 times in the presence of TCAA at pH 7.5 and 8.0 at 80 degrees C, while the hydrolysis of oligoguanylate (oligo(G)) was accelerated about 1.6 times at pH 8.0. A weak inhibitory activity for the cleavage of oligo(G) was detected in the presence of 0.055 M TCAA-Std. On the other hand, our recent study on the influences of TCAA for the template-directed reaction of oligo(G) on a polycytidylic acid template showed that TCAA has an acceleration activity for the degradation of the activated nucleotide monomer and an acceleration activity for the formation of G5' ppG capped oligo(G). This series of studies suggest that efficient and selective catalytic or inhibitory activities for either the degradation or formation of RNA under hydrothermal conditions could have hardly emerged from the simple thermal condensation products of amino acids. A scenario is going to be deduced on the chemical evolution of enzymatic activities and RNA molecules concerning hydrothermal earth conditions. c2005 COSPAR. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Amino Acids/chemistry↗

NASA NTRS2006

Effect of Environments on Degradation of Molding Compound and Wire Bonds in PEMs

Degradation of wire bonds (WBs) is one of the major factors limiting reliability of plastic encapsulated microcircuits (PEMs) at high temperatures. Use of PEMs in military and aerospace applications requires extended and thorough evaluation of encapsulating materials and reliability of packages in harsh environments. However, the effect of environmental conditions on characteristics of molding compounds (MCs) and reliability of wire bonds has not been studied sufficiently to date. In this work, two types of PEMs in QFP-style packages have been stored in different environments at temperatures from 130 C to 225 C for up to 4,500 hours in some cases. To assess the effect of oxygen, the parts were aged at 198 C in air and vacuum chambers. The effect of humidity was evaluated during long-term highly accelerated temperature and humidity stress testing (HAST) at temperatures of 130 C and 150 C. Thermo-mechanical and thermo-gravimetrical analyses were used to evaluate the effect of environment on characteristics of molding compound used. Measurements of contact resistances of wire bonds and their mechanical strength were employed to monitor degradation of wire bonds throughout the testing. Correlation between degradation of MC and WB failures has been analyzed. The effect of environmental conditions on accelerating factors of WB failures has been assessed, and the mechanism of wire bond degradation due to the presence of moisture and oxygen is discussed.

Teverosky, Alexander↗

NASA NTRS2007

Polymer Composites Corrosive Degradation: A Computational Simulation

A computational simulation of polymer composites corrosive durability is presented. The corrosive environment is assumed to manage the polymer composite degradation on a ply-by-ply basis. The degradation is correlated with a measured pH factor and is represented by voids, temperature and moisture which vary parabolically for voids and linearly for temperature and moisture through the laminate thickness. The simulation is performed by a computational composite mechanics computer code which includes micro, macro, combined stress failure and laminate theories. This accounts for starting the simulation from constitutive material properties and up to the laminate scale which exposes the laminate to the corrosive environment. Results obtained for one laminate indicate that the ply-by-ply degradation degrades the laminate to the last one or the last several plies. Results also demonstrate that the simulation is applicable to other polymer composite systems as well.

Chamis, Christos C.↗

NASA NTRS2011

O-6 Optical Property Degradation of the Hubble Space Telescope's Wide Field Camera-2 Pick Off Mirror

Degradation in the performance of optical components can be greatly affected by exposure to the space environment. Many factors can contribute to such degradation including surface contaminants; outgassing; vacuum, UV, and atomic oxygen exposure; temperature cycling; or combinations of parameters. In-situ observations give important clues to degradation processes, but there are relatively few opportunities to correlate those observations with post-flight ground analyses. The return of instruments from the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) after its final servicing mission in May 2009 provided such an opportunity. Among the instruments returned from HST was the Wide-Field Planetary Camera-2 (WFPC-2), which had been exposed to the space environment for 16 years. This work focuses on the identifying the sources of degradation in the performance of the Pick-off mirror (POM) from WFPC-2. Techniques including surface reflectivity measurements, spectroscopic ellipsometry, FTIR (and ATR-FTIR) analyses, SEM/EDS, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) with and without ion milling, and wet and dry physical surface sampling were performed. Destructive and contact analyses took place only after completion of the non-destructive measurements. Spectroscopic ellipsometry was then repeated to determine the extent of contaminant removal by the destructive techniques, providing insight into the nature and extent of polymerization of the contaminant layer.

McNamara, Karen M.↗

NASA NTRS2010

Degradation of Leakage Currents in Solid Tantalum Capacitors Under Steady-State Bias Conditions

Degradation of leakage currents in various types of solid tantalum capacitors under steady-state bias conditions was investigated at temperatures from 105 oC to 170 oC and voltages up to two times the rated voltage. Variations of leakage currents with time under highly accelerated life testing (HALT) and annealing, thermally stimulated depolarization currents, and I-V characteristics were measured to understand the conduction mechanism and the reason for current degradation. During HALT the currents increase gradually up to three orders of magnitude in some cases, and then stabilize with time. This degradation is reversible and annealing can restore the initial levels of leakage currents. The results are attributed to migration of positively charged oxygen vacancies in tantalum pentoxide films that diminish the Schottky barrier at the MnO2/Ta2O5 interface and increase electron injection. A simple model allows for estimation of concentration and mobility of oxygen vacancies based on the level of current degradation.

Teverovsky, Alexander A.↗

NASA NTRS2015

Dome Degradation Characterization of Wide-Field-of-View Nonscanner Aboard ERBE and Its Reprocessing

Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE) wide-field-of-view (WFOV) nonscanners aboard ERBS and NOAA- 9/NOAA-10 provided broadband shortwave and longwave irradiances from 1985 to 1999. The previous analysis showed dome degradation in the shortwave nonscanner instruments. The correction was performed with a constant spectral (gray assumption) degradation. We suspect that the gray assumption affected daytime longwave irradiance and led to a day-minus-night longwave flux differences (little change in night time longwave) increase over time. Based on knowledge from the CERES process, we will reprocess entire ERBE nonscanner radiation dataset by characterizing shortwave dome transmissivity with spectral dependent degradation using the solar data observed by these instruments. Once spectral dependent degradation is derived, imager derived cloud fraction and the cloud phase as well as surface type over the FOV of nonscanner instruments will be used to model unfiltering coefficients. This poster primarily explains the reprocessing techniques and includes initial comparison of several months of data processed with existing and our recent methods.

Shrestha, Alok K.↗

NASA NTRS2019

Surface Roughness-Induced Spectral Degradation of Multi-Spaceborne Solar Diffusers Due to Space Radiation Exposure

Solar diffusers (SDs) have often been used as the onboard calibrators for the radiometric calibration of reflective solar band imaging sensors. After being spaceborne, the reflectance of SDs is observed to degrade with spectral dependence due to exposure to solar UV and energetic particle radiation. Long-term spectral reflectance data of SDs onboard multiple LEO imaging sensors, such as the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on Terra and Aqua and the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on SNPP, are analyzed. The reflectance of SDs on these three instruments degrades faster for the shorter wavelength (0.4-0.6 μm) bands than the longer wavelength bands. The Surface Roughness-induced Rayleigh Scattering (SRRS) model is applied to simulate the SD degradation on these instruments, and the growth of the surface roughness parameter of the SDs is derived. It is determined that the change of surface roughness scale length is ~tens of nanometers. To show the consistency of roughness growth rates among the SDs on Terra/Aqua MODIS and SNPP VIIRS instruments, the functional dependences of the growth rates are characterized according to the SD exposure time and the stage of surface roughness. It is also found that the flattening or reverse in the growth trend of the surface roughness for these three SDs occurred around the same interval between October 2013 and October 2015. The confirmation of the applicability of SRRS model with the long-term spectral reflectance data from three independent spaceborne SDs facilitates a better understanding of the origin and physical processes of the SD degradation.

Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS)↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Degradation of Aluminum and Tantalum Wet Electrolytic Capacitors during High Temperature Storage

Aluminum electrolytic capacitors (AEC) are available to higher ranges of capacitance and voltage compared to tantalum electrolytic capacitors (TEC). However, evaporation of the electrolyte during operation or storage of conventional AEC that is accelerated with temperature does not allow use of these parts in space electronics. Instead, for systems requiring large value capacitors and high operating voltages, designers must use banks of TECs that increases substantially the size and weight of electronic modules. Development of hermetically sealed AECs might be beneficial for space systems provided the necessary reliability is assured. Increase in leakage current during storage of AEC is well known and is often explained by dissolution of aluminum oxide in electrolyte. However, other possible mechanisms of this effect have not been discussed. Although hermetically sealed TEC have been used in space systems for years, there is a lack of information about the effects of storage on their characteristics that is of great interest as a comparison for aluminum capacitors. This work explores degradation of AC characteristics (capacitance, dissipation factor, and equivalent series resistance) and DC characteristics (leakage and absorption currents) in different types of aluminum and tantalum hermetically sealed capacitors during long-term storage at high temperatures (100 °C, 125 °C, and 150 °C). It is shown that leakage currents are degrading in both types of capacitors, but this degradation is reversible after bias application. Mechanisms of degradation are discussed, and explanations based on the processes common for both types of capacitors are suggested. Problems associated with assessments of hermeticity and evaporation of the electrolyte in hermetically sealed capacitors are analyzed.

Alexander Teverovsky↗

NASA NTRS2023

An Analysis of Degradation in Low-Cost Particulate Matter Sensors

Low-cost sensors (LCSs) are increasingly being used to measure fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) concentrations in cities around the world. One of the most commonly deployed LCSs is PurpleAir with ∼15 000 sensors deployed in the United States, alone. PurpleAir measurements are widely used by the public to evaluate PM 2.5 levels in their neighborhoods. PurpleAir measurements are also increasingly being integrated into models by researchers to develop large-scale estimates of PM 2.5 . However, the change in sensor performance over time has not been well studied. It is important to understand the lifespan of these sensors to determine when they should be serviced or replaced, and when measurements from these devices should or should not be used for various applications. This paper fills this gap by leveraging the fact that: (1) each PurpleAir sensor is composed of two identical sensors and the divergence between their measurements can be observed, and (2) there are numerous PurpleAir sensors within 50 meters of regulatory monitors allowing for the comparison of measurements between these instruments. We propose empirically-derived degradation outcomes for the PurpleAir sensors and evaluate how these outcomes change over time. On average, we find that the number of ‘flagged’ measurements, where the two sensors within each PurpleAir sensor disagree, increases with time to ∼4% after 4 years of operation. Approximately, 2 percent of all PurpleAir sensors were permanently degraded. The largest fraction of permanently degraded PurpleAir sensors appeared to be in the hot and humid climate zone, suggesting that sensors in these locations may need to be replaced more frequently. We also find that the bias of PurpleAir sensors, or the difference between corrected PM2.5 levels and the corresponding reference measurements, changed over time by −0.12 μg m −3 (95% CI: −0.13 μg m −3 , −0.10 μg m −3 ) per year. The average bias increases dramatically after 3.5 years. Further, climate zone is a significant modifier of the association between degradation outcomes and time.

Priyanka deSouza↗

DOE OSTI2024

Reducing Thermal Degradation of Perovskite Solar Cells during Vacuum Lamination by Internal Diffusion Barriers

Current photovoltaic (PV) panels typically contain interconnected solar cells that are vacuum laminated with a polymer encapsulant between two pieces of glass or glass with a polymer backsheet. This packaging approach is ubiquitous in conventional photovoltaic technologies such as silicon and thinfilm solar modules, contributing to thermal management, mechanical reinforcement, and environmental protection to enable the long lifetimes necessary to become financially acceptable. Commercial vacuum lamination processes typically occur at 150 °C to ensure cross-linking and/or glass bonding of the encapsulant to the glass and PV cells. Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have emerged as a promising next-generation PV technology that is known to degrade under thermal stresses, especially at temperatures above 100 °C. In this study, we determine degradation modes during lamination and engineer internal diffusion barriers within the PSC to withstand the harsh thermal conditions of vacuum lamination. PSCs with self-assembled monolayers at the ITO interface and SnO X layers deposited by atomic layer deposition at the electron extraction side of the device endured vacuum lamination at conditions typical of commercial PV processes (150 °C) without degradation. This work demonstrates that perovskite PV can be integrated into the existing module lamination process, enabling future single- and multijunction modules utilizing perovskite absorbers.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗