All Physics Faculty Publications

Document Type

Presentation

Journal/Book Title/Conference

Proceedings of the 47th American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Meeting on Aerospace Sciences

Publisher

American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics

Publication Date

1-1-2009

Abstract

An engineering tool has been developed to predict the equilibrium conductivity of common spacecraft insulating materials as a function of electric field, temperature, and adsorbed dose rate based on parameterized, analytic functions derived from physics-based theories. The USU Resistivity Calculator Engineering Tool calculates the total conductivity as the sum of three independent conductivity mechanisms: a thermally activated hopping conductivity, a variable range hopping conductivity, and a radiation induced conductivity using a total of nine independent fitting parameters determined from fits to an extensive data set taken by the Utah State University Materials Physics Group. It also provides a fit for the temperature dependence of the electrostatic breakdown field strength, in terms of a tenth independent fitting parameter related to an interchain bond strength. The extent of F, T and D& measured in the experiments were designed to cover as much of the ranges typically encountered in space environments as possible. This Mathcad worksheet calculates the total conductivity and the individual contributions from each conductivity mechanism based on user inputs for F, T and D. It also plots 2D and 3D graphs of the conductivities over the appropriate full ranges of F, T and D& .

Comments

Paper Number,: AIAA-2009-0562, 47th American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronomics Meeting on Aerospace Sciences, Orlando, FL, January, 5-8, 2009.

Included in

Physics Commons

Share

COinS