Effects of dust accumulation and removal on radiator surfaces on Mars
- Lewis Research Center, Cleveland, OH (United States)
- Cleveland State Univ., OH (United States)
Tests were carried out to assess the impact of wind blown dust accumulation and abrasion on radiator surfaces on Mars. High emittance arc-textured copper (Cu) and niobium-1%-zirconium (Nb-1%Zr) samples were subjected to basaltic dust laden wind at Martian pressure (1000 Pa) at speeds varying from 19 to 97 m/s in the Martian Surface Wind Tunnel at NASA Ames Research Center. The effect of accumulated dust was also observed by pre-dusting some of the samples before the test. Radiator degradation was determined by measuring the change in the emittance after dust was deposited and/or removed. The principal mode of degradation was abrasion. Arc-textured Nb-1%Zr proved to be more susceptible to degradation than Cu, and pre-dusting appeared to have lessened the abrasion.
- Research Organization:
- NASA Lewis Research Center, Cleveland, OH (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Washington, DC (United States); USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AI03-86SF16310
- OSTI ID:
- 10181280
- Report Number(s):
- NASA-TM-103704; ON: DE94051206; TRN: 94:008295
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: PBD: Jan 1991
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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