Specialty Coatings services
In the Special Coatings Laboratory, processes related to thermal control coatings are developed, whether they are of the specific thermal paint type or multi-layered stacked coatings (MLI). Tailor-made preparation processes are carried out, as well as activities to ensure the quality of the environment and the inputs used.
These coatings, as components of the passive thermal control of a satellite or part of it, play a very important role given the extreme working conditions required by the space environment (high vacuum and wide thermal range). In this context, the coatings act as protection for the hardware on which they are applied, functioning as a heat shield or as a radiation medium to dissipate excess heat.
TESTS
Services
- Thermal analysis and design to adopt the optimal solution for the product in terms of coatings.
- Development of ad hoc processes for paint application (aeronautical or space) and final acceptance of treated parts.
- Design and manufacturing of MLI (multi-layer stacking).
- Thickness measurements of dry coatings on ferrous, non-ferrous and non-metallic substrates.
- Salt spray testing.
- Adhesion tests.
- Measurement of thermo-optical properties.
Features
Air treatment that guarantees a 100 K type environment, with a quantity of 100,000 particles per cubic foot of air (Fed-std-209E Standard) and with controlled temperature and humidity (Temperature: 22 ± 3 °C, relative humidity: 55 ± 10 %), complying with the ISO 8 standard (ISO14644 standard) of the “European Cooperation for Space Standardization” (ECSS).
3 internal rooms with independent environmental control: a room type 100K with temperature, humidity and particle control for preparation activities; a room with temperature and humidity control, equipped with a suction front for painting activities; and another room type 100K with a wide range of temperature and relative humidity control, for customized curing of paints.
Specific equipment for the preparation and treatment of high performance coatings: deionizer for obtaining high purity water (18 Megaohm), ball mill for grinding solid compounds, controlled paint storage system (safety cabinets and freezer), spraying equipment with HVLP technology, airbrushes for rework and adjustments, 3D printer for prototyping and manufacturing of process support devices.
EQUIPMENT AND CAPABILITIES
