Simulation and performance degradation of carburized polyimide films in a space radiation environment

Advanced space materials are important to support the development of space technology. Their performance restricts the development of spacecraft to a great extent. However, the space environments encountered by spacecraft in orbit will lead to the degradation of material properties. The stability of the material in the space environment directly affects the performance level and service life of spacecraft. For the space radiation effects on space materials, a method to determine ground test parameters using depth-dose profile simulation is presented. By using this method, a ground test of the effects of space radiation environment in medium earth orbit for 8 years on carburized films was performed. The solar absorptance, infrared emittance, and surface resistivity of the test samples were measured. The results showed that the solar absorptance of the material changed significantly after irradiation, decreased by 10.3%, the infrared emittance decreased by 0.033, and the surface resistivity decreased slightly. The SEM photos indicated that the surface of the sample became rougher and there were more small holes. The XPS results indicated that the chemical bonds in the surface of samples changed under combined irradiation, and the C==O bond changed to C—O bond.