Evaluation of a Conductive Elastomer Seal for Spacecraft

Daniels, C. C.; Mather, J. L.; Oravec, H. A.; Dunlap, P. H., Jr.

An electrically conductive elastomer was evaluated as a material candidate for a spacecraft seal. The elastomer used electrically conductive constituents as a means to reduce the resistance between mating interfaces of a sealed joint to meet spacecraft electrical bonding requirements. The compound's outgassing levels were compared against published NASA requirements. The compound was formed into a hollow O-ring seal and its compression set was measured. The O-ring seal was placed into an interface and the electrical resistance and leak rate were quantified. The amount of force required to fully compress the test article in the sealing interface and the force needed to separate the joint were also measured. The outgassing and resistance measurements were below the maximum allowable levels. The room temperature compression set and leak rates were fairly high when compared against other typical spacecraft seal materials, but were not excessive. The compression and adhesion forces were desirably low. Overall, the performance of the elastomer compound was sufficient to be considered for future spacecraft seal applications.

Document ID

20170000887

Acquisition Source

Glenn Research Center

Document Type

Conference Paper

Authors

Date Acquired

January 27, 2017

Publication Date

July 25, 2016

Subject Category

Report/Patent Number

Meeting Information

Meeting: AIAA Joint Propulsion Conference

Location: Salt Lake City, UT

Country: United States

Start Date: July 25, 2016

End Date: July 27, 2016

Sponsors: American Inst. of Aeronautics and Astronautics

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Public

Public Use Permitted.

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