Sintered Powder Textile Surface Modification for Extreme Environments

New textile and material solutions are needed to withstand the challenging environments that will be encountered during extended duration Lunar exploration missions. We propose a novel textile technology for environmental protection garment (EPG) outer layers that leverages space-proven materials together with a novel sintered powder textile surface modification process to impart superior dust resistance while retaining ultra-low temperature compatibility. The sintered surface layer has a structure based upon a network of powder particles that have been fused together. This network offers the smooth, dust-impermeable benefits of a continuous coating, but has filament-like attributes to retain flexibility at ultra-low temperature. Powders for sintered surface modification are selected to match currently envisioned EPG shell fabric materials (e.g., Orthofabric), to create ldquo;like bonded to likerdquo; surfaces that eliminate differences in thermal expansion coefficients that cause delamination of traditional coatings. These novel surface modifications will be used to create advanced textile architectures for flexible but tough environmental EPG textile materials that efficiently resist penetration and abrasion by dust. Additional finishes including shear thickening fluid (STF) treatment and superhydrophobic coating will also be applied to the modified textile to maximize physical hazard protection and ease of dust removal. The challenging combination of requirements for the EPG shell material necessitates such an approach that leverages all potential aspects of fabric design and construction. STF Technologies is uniquely positioned to carry out the development of the proposed innovative textiles owing to our companyrsquo;s experience in space suit fabric design and testing, as well as activities related to on-orbit and upcoming Lunar materials testing. We are partnering with premier University of Delaware polymer and materials experts on the proposed Ramp;D.