In-Space Disassembly and Assembly of Thermoplastic Composite Structures with Embedded Carbon Nano-Heaters

This Phase I project aims to assess the feasibility of disassembling and reassembling thermoplastic composite joints in space by thermo-mechanically debonding and bonding the joint interface. By harnessing this fundamental operation, space structures can be reconfigured into vastly different geometries depending on mission needs using the same set of structural elements. Repurposing thermoplastic composite structures has the potential to significantly reduce the amount of materials to be delivered to space as payloads. In our proposed concept, the original and the repurposed structures are trusses consisting of composite joints and struts. The joint-strut interfaces are pre-inserted with a conductive composite adhesive layer made of the same thermoplastic matrix as the adherend composite parts and embedded with nanostructured carbon fillers. By forming an electrically and thermally conductive network, the carbon fillers act as an in-situ resistance heater to bring the thermoplastic matrix to the processing temperature for interface debonding by mechanical forces. The disassembled struts and joints are reassembled to the repurposed configuration via resistance welding using the same or additional conductive adhesive layers. The proposed in-situ heating and reassembly method enables spacecraft components to be reutilized, which greatly reduces the logistical footprint to deliver technologies to space. Current spacecraft components are still largely designed for single-use missions, which are costly and not scalable. The ability to repurpose spacecraft components maximizes their useful service life and lowers the cost of building new infrastructure on planetary surfaces. In Phase I, the power and tooling requirements to make the proposed technology viable will be established using multiphysics simulations and analyses of the full reassembly operation.