Running
Duration: 18 months
The attainment of dismantleable high-performance space structures is essential, both as part of the Clean Space strategy, and, as indicated in ESA's Enabling a Space Circular Economy by 2050 White Paper, to enable the recycling and reuse of materials in space. Adhesive bonding is a key enabling technology for the production of lightweight structures for both in-orbit and lunar- and Mars-based missions. Adhesive bonding offers many advantages in terms of manufacturing efficiencies and performance for the joining of structures. However, there are disadvantages to the use of adhesives; one being the difficulties associated with the dismantling of structures incorporating high performance adhesive bonds, in a controlled manner, to enable repair, re-use or re-cycling of structures and materials, particularly in the space environment. Such requirements are highlighted as essential in the aforementioned White Paper. This project will develop a novel technology for the rapid dismantling of structural adhesive joints which is based upon controlled Joule heating of a partially-conductive adhesive using an electrical current as the energy source. This approach can be taken to create a system capable of providing rapid dismantling, or disbond-on-demand, for high performance structures used in space. This approach offers many advantages in terms of materials optimisation, both in-space, and, for the recovery of satellite components. The current proposal aims to address this challenge by modifying space-grade adhesives, using: controlled levels, and; optimised dispersions of conducting fillers to provide tailored resistivity values which will enable Joule heating to occur, whilst maintaining, or improving upon, the mechanical properties of the adhesive. This will deliver a material and method capable of providing: 1. High performance structural bonded joints using existing space-grade materials, and; 2. dismantleable adhesion, or disbond-on-demand, for space structures.
