The Role of Reduced Graphene Oxides in Enhancing the Mechanical Properties of Satellite Structure Nanocomposite Materials against Electron Beam

Materials developed for space application to sustain both of mechanical loads ant space environmental threats. The Electron Beam (EB) was selected to represent one of the most hazardous space environment parameter subjected to the Spacecraft (SC) components; the charged particles flux which predicted according to the space mission and its orbit parameters. The candidate materials for this study based on the carbon fiber/epoxy which was enhanced by adding Reduced Graphene Oxide (RGO) and investigate its resistance to EB. RGO addition was varies in three different compounds with different preparation methods; (RGO-24N, RGO-33C and RGO-G270). The RGO additives were dispersed in the epoxy matrix. Each sample was subjected to Integrated Current Transformer (ICT) electron beam at a constant dose of 100 kGy. The mechanical properties of Nano composites were tested by a Universal Testing System (UTS) and were correlated to the variation of their constituents’ molecular structure obtained by Fourier Transformation Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA) and Electric Resistivity (ER). The results revealed an enhancement in the mechanical properties of epoxy matrix after the addition of RGO except for (RGO-33C) and preservation of the mechanical properties even after irradiation.