INCREASING NUMBERS OF SPACE APPLICATIONS ARE DEMANDING CHEMICALLY STABLE, HIGH MODULUS, LOW THERMAL EXPANSION AND THERMALLY AND ELECTRICALLY CONDUCTIVE STRUCTURES.

INCREASING NUMBERS OF SPACE APPLICATIONS ARE DEMANDING CHEMICALLY STABLE, HIGH MODULUS, LOW THERMAL EXPANSION AND THERMALLY AND ELECTRICALLY CONDUCTIVE STRUCTURES. STRUCTURES FORMED FROM WIRES CONTAINING A COMBINATION OF HIGH-MODULUS GRAPHITE FIBERS IN A METAL MATRIX OF EITHER ALUMINUM OR MAGNESIUM HAVE THE POTENTIAL FOR MEETING THESE REQUIREMENTS. IN ORDER TO CONSIDER THIS WIRE AS A BASIC BUILDING BLOCK FOR BOTH SPACE AND EARTH ASSEMBLED SATELLITE STRUCTURES, THE ABILITY TO PRODUCE LONG LENGTHS OF UNIFORMLY SIZED GRAPHITE-ALUMINUM WIRE IS MANDATORY. THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS PROGRAM IS TO INVESTIGATE AND DEMONSTRATE THE FEASIBILITI OF SEVERAL INNOVATIVE APPROACHES FOR PRODUCING 50 FOOT LENGTHS OF DIE SIZED WIRE. THIS PROGRAM STUDIES THE EFFECTS OF COMBINING A MULTI-LINE, TIB CHEMICAL VAPOR DEPOSITION UNIT, A LINE-OF-SIGHT LIQUID METAL PUMP INFILTRATION SYSTEM, AND A HEATED FIXED DIE SYSTEM TO FORM LONG LENGTHS OF UNIFORM SIZED GRAPHITE- ALUMINUM WIRE. THE PROGRAM CONCENTRATES ON IDENTIFYING AND IMPROVING YARN TRANSPORT, YARN ACTIVATION, YARN INFILTRATION DIE SIZING, AND MAINTENANCE OF CRITICAL TEMPERATURES IN ORDER TO MINIMIZE WIRE DEFECTS AND MAXIMIZE LENGTH. PARTICULAR ATTENTION WILL BE GIVEN TO DIE MATERIALS, ENTRANT ANGLES, AND TEMPERATURES. THIS PROJECT PROVIDES THE BASIS FOR A MORE EXTENSIVE DEVELOPMENT EFFORT TO MASS-PRODUCE GRAPHITE-ALUMINUM WIRE FOR SPACE STRUCTURES AND PROVIDES WIRE FOR R&D ON STRUCTURES SUCH AS GEODETIC BEAMS, CONES, AND CYLINDERS.