Carbon nanotube coated structure and associated method of fabrication

摘要

A coated structure is provided that has a highly concentrated coating of carbon nanotubes so as to provide integrated thermal emissivity, atomic oxygen (AO) shielding and tailorable conductivity to the underlying surface, such as the surface of an aerospace vehicle, a solar array, an aeronautical vehicle or the like. A method of fabricating a coated structure is also provided in which a surface is coated with a coating having a relative high concentration of carbon nanotubes that is configured to provide integrated thermal emissivity, AO shielding and tailorable conductivity to the surface.

主权项

1. An external surface of an aerospace vehicle or an aeronautical vehicle, the external surface comprising:
a substrate having a surface that is exposed to temperature fluctuations at least between −180° C. and 150° C.; and a coating disposed upon the substrate, wherein the coating consists of: (i) a plurality of carbon nanotubes disposed on the surface of the substrate and (ii) a binder that is laid into the carbon nanotubes that are disposed on the surface of the substrate, wherein the binder is formed of silicon dioxide or indium tin oxide that is laid into the carbon nanotubes following disposition of the carbon nanotubes on the surface of the substrate, and wherein the carbon nanotubes comprise at least 50% by volume of the coating, wherein the coating is structured to have a tailorable conductivity up to 5e10 Ω/square while exposed to temperature fluctuations at least between −180° C. and 150° C., wherein the coating is also structured to provide an integrated thermal emissivity to the surface, and wherein the coating has a thickness between 0.5 microns and 2 microns to provide atomic oxygen (AO) shielding.