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(abstract) Unidirectional Carbon/Carbon for Ion Engine OpticsConventional ion engine optical grids are made from hydroformed molybdenum. Carbon/carbon has been utilized in place of molybdenum because of its lower sputter yield, which contributes a greatly increased engine life, and for its low cte, which allows more efficient engine operation. The requirements for this material are that it must have high stiffness, very tight dimensional tolerances, and can be optimized for an hexagonal hole pattern with a very high open area friction. The carbon/carbon for this application was fabricated from unidirectional tape prepreg, using pitch fiber, and was processed to a very high temperature. The use of unidirectional tape allowed for a sufficient number of plies to be used to generate a balanced three directional layup within the thickness constraints of the material, as well as providing strength and stiffness over that normally seen with fabric based carbon/carbons.
Document ID
20060038067
Acquisition Source
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Document Type
Preprint (Draft being sent to journal)
External Source(s)
Authors
Brown, D. Kyle
Date Acquired
August 23, 2013
Publication Date
July 1, 1995
Subject Category
Optics
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other
Keywords
ion engine carbon/carbon unidirectional tape prepreg molybdenum optical grids ct

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