Sustainably Sourced, Thermally Resistant, Radiation Hard Biopolymer
- Monday, 24 October 2011
A sustainably sourced biopolymer provides simultaneous thermal insulation and radiation protection.
This material represents a breakthrough
in the production, manufacturing,
and application of thermal protection
system (TPS) materials and radiation
shielding, as this represents the first
effort to develop a non-metallic, nonceramic,
TPS with the capability to also act as
radiation shielding. Until now, the
standing philosophy for radiation shielding
involved carrying the shielding at
liftoff or utilizing onboard water
sources. This shielding material could
be grown onboard and applied as needed
prior to different radiation landscapes
(commonly seen during missions
involving gravitational assists).
The material is a bioplastic material.
Bioplastics are any combination of a
biopolymer and a plasticizer. In this
case, the biopolymer is a starch-based
material and a commonly accessible
plasticizer. Starch molecules are composed
of two major polymers: amylase
The biopolymer phenolic compounds are common to the ablative thermal protection system family of materials. With similar constituents come similar chemical ablation processes, with the potential to have comparable, if not better, ablation characteristics. It can also be used as a flame-resistant barrier for commercial applications in buildings, homes, cars, and heater firewall material.
The biopolymer is observed to undergo chemical transformations (oxidative and structural degradation) at radiation doses that are 1,000 times the maximum dose of an unmanned mission (10–25 Mrad), indicating that it would be a viable candidate for robust radiation shielding. As a comparison, the total integrated radiation dose for a threeyear manned mission to Mars is 0.1 krad, far below the radiation limit at which starch molecules degrade. For electron radiation, the biopolymer starches show minimal deterioration when exposed to energies greater than 180 keV.
This flame-resistant, thermal-insulating material is non-hazardous and may be sustainably sourced. It poses no hazardous waste threats during its lifecycle. The material composition is radiation-tolerant up to megarad doses, indicating its use as a radiation shielding material. It is lightweight, non-metallic, and able to be mechanically densified, permitting a tunable gradient of thermal and radiation protection as needed. The dual-use (thermal and radiation shielding), sustainable nature of this material makes it suitable for both industrial applications as a sustainable/green building material, and for space applications as thermal protection material and radiation shield.
This work was done by Diane Pugel of Goddard Space Flight Center. GSC-16177-1
This Brief includes a Technical Support Package (TSP).
Sustainably Sourced, Thermally Resistant, Radiation Hard Biopolymer (reference GSC-16177-1) is currently available for download from the TSP library.
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