Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Tech Transfer
Self-Healing Inflatable Extraterrestrial Shield (SHIELD)
Project Description
The team of Astro Terra Corp, Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), and Virginia Tech (VT) propose the development of a composite polymer over Phase-I and Phase-II into a "Self-Healing Inflatable Extraterrestrial ShieLD (SHIELD) membrane with autonomic self-healing properties and active radiation protection. The multi-layer composite architecture of SHIELD membrane is envisioned to have three layers. The outer layer is fabricated from polyimide and the innermost layer made from a viscoelastic polymer. The middle layer will be a self-healing layer fabricated from ionomeric polymers or PDMS-based ionenes and will be the focus of research activities in this program..The team proposes to fabricate the self-healing layer from two polymers (i) an ionomer (Surlyn) and (ii) a novel PDMS-based polyionene and demonstrate autonomic self-sealing in Phase-I. In addition, this polymer layer will be embedded with magnetoelectric nanoparticles and carbon fibers bundles that are in electrical contact and connected to an external circuit. The combination of magnetoelectric nanoparticles and carbon fibers will provide damage detection, resistive and/or inductive heating based self-healing and electromagnetic radiation protection. The polymer candidate that offers the most advantage in autonomic healing and radiation protection will be pursued for further development into a lightweight inflatable membrane in Phase-II.
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Anticipated Benefits
Military applications are an obvious area that will benefit from self-healing systems. Aircraft such as UCAV systems could mitigate minor damage which would increase their survivability and durability. Damage could be the result of flak and blasts. With further development, small projectile damage could be mitigated by even partial healing of the impacted area. This could be extended to manned applications. Ground vehicles could heal from minor impacts in hostile environments or could be embedded in tires to heal punctures. Aquatic vehicles could similarly benefit from the same self-healing materials. Temporary structures such as tents like field hospitals or chemical and biological warfare shelters could benefit by having the capability to heal from minor damage. Similarly, biological, chemical, and hazardous material suits for soldiers could be healed in the event of a breach. This can be extended to non-military suits for hazardous materials responders.
Self-healing materials potentially have a broad range of applications for NASA. These include extra-terrestrial habitats, orbital modules, solar sails, flexible solar arrays, deep space systems, structural components, and space suits. For example, unmanned missions such as the planetary probes and telescopes could see great benefit. The thin film shade for JWST could self-heal from potential damage from cosmic particles flying through interplanetary space. This will help mitigate degradation in the performance of the shade. Similar benefits could be seen with probes sent to investigate asteroids or comets where the likelihood of damage from small objects will increase. Missions such as New Frontiers spacecraft to the larger planets and outer planets will benefit by self-healing components such as arrays, antennas, and other structures. More »
Self-healing materials potentially have a broad range of applications for NASA. These include extra-terrestrial habitats, orbital modules, solar sails, flexible solar arrays, deep space systems, structural components, and space suits. For example, unmanned missions such as the planetary probes and telescopes could see great benefit. The thin film shade for JWST could self-heal from potential damage from cosmic particles flying through interplanetary space. This will help mitigate degradation in the performance of the shade. Similar benefits could be seen with probes sent to investigate asteroids or comets where the likelihood of damage from small objects will increase. Missions such as New Frontiers spacecraft to the larger planets and outer planets will benefit by self-healing components such as arrays, antennas, and other structures. More »
Primary U.S. Work Locations and Key Partners
| Organizations Performing Work | Role | Type | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Astro Terra Corp | Lead Organization | Industry | Orange, California |
Johnson Space Center
(JSC)
|
Supporting Organization | NASA Center | Houston, Texas |
| Virginia Commonwealth University | Supporting Organization | Academia | Richmond, Virginia |
Primary U.S. Work Locations
-
California
-
Texas
-
Virginia
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This is a historic project that was completed before the creation of TechPort on October 1, 2012. Available data has been included. This record may contain less data than currently active projects.