International Review of Aerospace Engineering (I.RE.AS.E), Vol. 11, N.

4
ISSN 1973-7459 August 2018

Performance Evaluation of Selected Irradiated Space Structure

Composites Manufactured by the Hand Lay-Up Method

A. Anwar, M. Osman, D. Elfiky, G. M. Hassan

Abstract – Polymeric composites are widely used in manufacturing the space structures because
of their superior light weight compared with either the metallic ferrous or non-ferrous materials.
These materials should secure high strength to weight ratio and reasonable thermal and/or optical
properties. In this work, the selected polymeric matrix composites reinforced with three different
types of fibers, namely, carbon, fiberglass, and Kevlar were manufactured with the low-cost hand
lay-up method. These samples were irradiated with different doses of γ-rays. These prescribed
doses were chosen to simulate the charged particles space hazards in a well-defined orbit for 3.75,
5.625, and 7.5 years. Gases trapped during the manufacturing process were extracted and
analyzed using the vacuum simulator facility at relatively high temperature to evaluate their effect
on the optical surfaces. Mechanical properties variation of the irradiated composites was traced
by tensile testing and correlated to the variation of their constituents’ molecular structure which
was analyzed by the Fourier Transformation Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Thermal stability of
the irradiated composites constituents, with the previously prescribed doses, was monitored at a
wide range of temperatures. Copyright © 2018 Praise Worthy Prize S.r.l. - All rights reserved.

Keywords: Hand Lay-Up, Composite, Space Environment, Gamma Irradiation

I. Introduction Moreover, the gamma irradiation was found to

Spacecraft (SC) structure provides the necessary
accommodation for the control and navigation equipment
of the system. It secures the payload fixation and protects
the whole subsystems against the space environmental
threats. Types and severity of these threats could be
categorized as a function of the SC altitude. Low Earth
orbit (LEO), which is our concern, has many threats such
as ultra-violet (UV) radiation, atomic oxygen (ATOX),
ionizing radiation, plasma, meteoroids and debris, high
vacuum, thermal cycles, and electrostatic charging [1].
Effects of the stated radiation types were found to be
highly dependent on the amount of the absorbed energy
on the SC materials not on the value of the irradiated
particles charge [2]; therefore, gamma radiation was
adopted by most of the researchers to simulate the
different radiation types because of its availability with
reasonable irradiation rates [3]. A cobalt source (Co60)
was used by Zhang et al [4] studying the γ radiation
effect on the mechanical properties of the Kevlar
fiber/epoxy composite, specially, the inter-laminar shear
strength (ILSS). Irradiation with γ raised the interfacial
adhesion that enhanced the composite shear strength.
This was explained by the FTIR spectroscopy where
higher intensities of the polar groups which enhance the
radical reactions were observed. Also, a sensible increase
in the oxygen/carbon ratio, in the interface between the
fiber surface and the epoxy, was detected by the energy
dispersive X-ray microanalysis (EDX) and X-ray
photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS).
improve the Kevlar fibers’ surface wettability by the
resin matrix. Wu et al. [5] studied the same properties
investigated by Zhang but on the fiberglass/epoxy
composite at a higher dose scale.
With this fiber type, irradiation with 5 MGy of gamma
had no effect on the ILSS of the composite while a dose
of 10 MGy reduced it significantly and lowered its
thermal stability. This drop was explained by the
ultraviolet-visual (UV–Vis) spectra, the FTIR facilities
and attributed to the cross-linking and degradation of the
epoxy matrix. Xiao Hao [6] studied the effect of gamma
radiation on the mechanical properties of the different
types of composite materials. Influence of gamma-
irradiation on the structure and mechanical properties of
poly-acrylonitrile (PAN)-based carbon fibres were
studied. It was observed that the Young’s modulus of the
irradiated fibers increased with irradiation dose
increasing. However, the tensile strength increased at 30
kGy and then dropped at 300 kGy, which is almost the
same as for the non-irradiated fiber. Uniform stress
model analysis and Raman spectroscopy showed that the
degree of covalent cross-linking between the graphene
planes increased to a maximum at 30 kGy and then
remained almost constant with further irradiation. The
scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images showed that
the degree of surface roughness increases as the dose
increases. It was believed that when the dose is less than
30 kGy, the cross-linking effect is the dominant that
improves the tensile strength. On the other hand, further
irradiation generated surface flaws, which neutralized the

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 A. Anwar, M. Osman, D. Elfiky, G. M. Hassan

rise and resulted in a decrease of the tensile strength. A Galdabini universal tensile testing machine model
Zegaoui et al. [7] studied the effect of irradiation on “Quasar 100” was used to evaluate the tensile properties
both the mechanical and thermal properties as well as the of the prepared and treated samples according to the
chemical structure of the matrix resin “cyanate ester (CE) standard “ASTM -D 3039M.” For each measurement,
and benzoxazine (BOZ)” with the same dose step (250 five samples at least were tested to secure a 95% level of
KGy) adopted in this work. To evaluate the resin confidence [11]. Discs with 6 mm diameter were cut
response to the irradiation process the Dynamic from the laminated composites with a special tool to be
Mechanical Analysis (DMA), Thermo-Gravimetric analyzed for the outgassing that was performed in the
Analysis (TGA) and Fourier Transformation Infrared Scientific Aerospace Solutions Laboratory (SAS Lab) in
(FTIR) techniques were used. The resin flexural strength, “Sapienza University of Rome”. The discs were
thermal stability, storage modulus and glass transition examined individually in an evacuated chamber in the
temperature were found to be slightly reduced with the vacuum simulator facility as shown in Fig. 2. This
250 KGy dose, whereas irradiation with a 500 KGy chamber contains the samples holder and the collector
caused steep enhancement. Higher doses (750 and 1000 plates' holder where they are arranged back to back to
KGy) embrittled the resin structure, degraded its flexural shorten the in-between distance and ensure the complete
strength and reduced all the investigated properties. condensation of outgases.
Noura et al. [8] studied the oxidative degradation of
the plant fiber composites (polypropylene/alfa) when
irradiated with gamma. They investigated the composites
structure, morphology, thermal and mechanical
properties variation at low doses between 0 and 200 kGy.
The filler material (fibre) was added as an untreated
and/or as treated either by adding compatibilizing agent
or by acetylation to influence the interfacial adhesion
between polypropylene and Alfa fiber. The gamma
irradiation was found to increase the storage modulus of
the composite in both cases. Increasing the irradiation
dose created micro-cracks and voids as a consequence of
polymer degradation. Earlier research work by Fintzou et Fig. 2. Vacuum simulator facility
al. [9], supported these features since it proved the
creation of radiolysis products as a result of the free The examined sample (disc) was packed in a small
radicals formation favourable to chain scission. aluminum boat, shown in Fig. 3, having a tiny hole in its
base, for easy handling and loading in the sample holder.
The boat and the sample were heated to 125°C for 24
II. Experimental Work hours to enhance the gas escaping where the collector
The investigated composite materials were plates were kept active cooled to force the evolved gases
manufactured by the hand lay-up method and cured in to condense. A sensitive balance with 2µg in accuracy
the room temperature without using autoclave. was used to weight the tested sample either before or
Bidirectional plies of the carbon fabric (Thornel 300), after the evacuation process to calculate the total mass
fiberglass fabric (S-glass), and Kevlar fabric (Kevlar-49) loss [12].
were stacked separately in multiple layers to form the
laminated composites having the same volume fraction
(40% fiber) [10].
The epoxy resin [20]-[22] (Epolam 5015) with the
hardener (Epolam 5014) was used as a matrix. After
curing, the composite sheets were cut into strips 18 mm
in width and 200 mm in length, as shown in Fig. 1, for
tensile testing. These strips were notched with a V shape
teeth profile milling cutter with 60° vertex angle.

Fig. 3. Aluminum boat for backing/loading samples

Fig. 1. Notched specimen for tensile test

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 A. Anwar, M. Osman, D. Elfiky, G. M. Hassan
Irradiation of the prepared tensile samples took place
in the Egyptian Atomic Energy Authority (EAEA) with a
Co60 source having a calibrated radiation rate of 2.08×10-
3
MGy/hr. Three groups of prepared tensile specimen
from each composite material as well as small pieces
from the different fabric types and the cured epoxy were
irradiated with 375, 562.5, and 750 KGy, respectively.
Fig. 4. Aluminum boat for outgassing specimens
These doses were calculated using the space
environment information system (SPENVIS) software to
simulate the effect of the charged particles in the LEO
orbit, with 660 km orbital altitude and 98.1° orbital
inclination, for the prescribed lifetime. Fourier
Transformation Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) model
“Jasco-4100” was used to study the effect of the gamma
irradiation on the structure of the fabrics and the used
epoxy. The spectra were recorded using the absorption
method with a wavenumber range 400 to 4000 cm-1.
Background scan was performed prior to the test; data
were corrected and smoothed with a tune-up tool in the
instrument software.
A Gaussian-5 and Gaussian view software packages
were used to simulate the chemical formulae/structures
of the investigated composites constituents’ and to
predict their structure variation as a function of the
stabilizing energy. All the calculations were performed
on the basis of B3LYP/3-21G level.
III. Results and Discussion
Results of the outgassing test have been summarized
in four main parameters: total mass loss (TML), collected
vapor and condensable material (CVCM), water vapor
regained (WVR), and recovered mass loss (RML).
Values of these parameters have been standardized by
European Corporation for Space Standards (ECSS),
American Society for Testing of Materials (ASTM),
and/or the long duration exposure facility (LDEF) sent to
space by NASA. The former organizations adopted more
restricted ranges compared with the lateral organization
where it presents actual values. Table I presents the
Copyright © 2018 Praise Worthy Prize S.r.l. - All rights reserved
157
values of the stated parameters by ECSS and ASTM
[13], [14]; in addition to the measured mean values by
the author and finally the LDEF results for comparison.
For the carbon fiber/epoxy, the TML and RML values
are double the standard values set by ECSS/ASTM and
even out of the range documented by NASA. These high
values are a result of releasing both the humidity and the
other gases trapped in the composite during
manufacturing. The CVCM and the WVR values are
lower than the typical standard values because of the
little condensation of the humidity and the harmful
gasses on the sample surface [15], [16]. Parameters of the
fiberglass/epoxy composite showed the same behavior
observed for the carbon fiber/epoxy composite.
Meanwhile, the Kevlar fiber/epoxy reveals a different
behavior where all the stated parameters have reported 6-
7 times greater than the standard acceptable values by
ECSS/ASTM.
TABLE I
OUTGASSING PARAMETERS
TML % CVCM% WVR% RML%
ECSS and ASTM 1 0.1 - -
Measured 2.6152 0.0830 0.0208 2.5944
CF/epoxy
NASA values 0.60-1.20 0.01-0.03 0.1-8.83 -
Measured 7.1188 0.6256 1.4969 5.6219
KF/epoxy
NASA values 1.86-1.92 0.1 1.26-132 -
Fiberglass Measured 2.4633 0.2113 0.5161 1.9472
/epoxy NASA values 1.07-3.50 0.1-1.16 0.0-0.61 -
Figs. 5, 6, and 7 represent the variations of the
mechanical properties of the irradiated composites with
the prescribed γ doses. In Fig. 5, the ultimate tensile
strength of both the irradiated fiberglass/epoxy and the
Kevlar fiber/epoxy composite shows slight decrease, less
than 10%, compared with the non-irradiated composites
even with the different strength levels. Strength of the
carbon fiber/epoxy shows almost no variation but
delicate rise with the relatively higher irradiation dose.
Stress-strain curves of all the irradiated composites with
all doses showed higher stiffness compared with the non-
irradiated specimens.
Fig. 5. Effect of irradiation on the ultimate strength
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 A. Anwar, M. Osman, D. Elfiky, G. M. Hassan
Fig. 6. Effect of irradiation dose on the toughness
Fig. 6 showed the toughness behavior of the
investigated composites as a function of the radiation
dose. Slight decrease was observed for all composites
except for the carbon fiber/epoxy composite that attains
almost the same value.
Elongation to fracture behavior presented in Fig. 7
showed the same attitude for all composites where
smooth reduction was observed with increasing the dose.
Figs. 5 and 7 compare the composites strength and
ductility variation. Their behavior is not in consistent
with that always observed for metallic materials, since
they showed a continually reduced ductility with the
decreased strength. This could be justified in terms of
either the de-bonding between fiber and matrix and/or
the embrittlement of the composite constituents.
However, the FTIR spectra shown in Figs. 8 to 11
explained this accompanied embrittlement. In these
Fig. 8. FTIR spectrum of epoxy
Copyright © 2018 Praise Worthy Prize S.r.l. - All rights reserved
158
Fig. 7. Effect of irradiation dose on the elongation
spectra, as the γ dose increases, the observed broad beaks
are shifted to the left toward the higher wavenumbers.
This is caused by the rearrangement of the oxygen
lattice leading to the formation of H-bonding. Presence
of the newly formed H-bond beside the originally
existing O-H group causes condensation and
consequently enhances the constituents’ embrittlement.
In addition to this shift, the intensities of those peaks,
representing the C-H group at 2948 cm-1 and 2842 cm-1,
are inversely proportional to the irradiation γ dose except
for the Kevlar.
This decay could be explained as a result of scissoring
the single bond C-H group that creates the free radicals
to form the double bond C=C which appears at 1630 cm-1
and 1592 cm-1 being directly proportional to the
irradiation dose.
International Review of Aerospace Engineering, Vol. 11, N. 4
 A. Anwar, M. Osman, D. Elfiky, G. M. Hassan

Fig. 9. FTIR spectrum of carbon fiber

Fig. 10. FTIR spectrum of Kevlar fiber

Moreover, new peaks representing the radio oxidation
reaction products, in the range 1383 cm-1 and 1349 cm-1,
are observed since the irradiation [17]. Thermo-
gravimetric analysis, studied by the same authors [18],
for all the tested constituents: epoxy/carbon fiber/
fiberglass/Kevlar fiber, either before or after irradiation,
revealed a weight loss of about 1.5% as a maximum at
150°C even for the Kevlar fabric.
This confirms that the dissociation of the polymeric
constituents is not the only reason for the high TML
value (6-7%) observed for the Kevlar fiber/epoxy
composite since the outgassing test was performed at a
relatively lower temperature (125°C). Therefore, the high
value of the previously stated parameter could be
attributed to the existence of high amounts of trapped air
in the vast gabs between the Kevlar fabric meshes,
because of the larger strand diameter compared with
those of the other fabrics, and/or the bad wetting of the
used epoxy on the Kevlar surface. This could be
eliminated by using the autoclave facility which forces
the trapped gasses evolving during the curing process
[19].

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 A. Anwar, M. Osman, D. Elfiky, G. M. Hassan

Fig. 11. FTIR spectrum of fiber glass

Geometry optimization was performed for all the manufactured by the hand lay-up method, have higher
investigated constituents where the principle parameters values of both the TML and CVCM parameters
were calculated using the Gaussian-5 software package. compared with those required by the ECSS and the
One of these parameters was the bond length so that ASTM standards. These values lie in the acceptable
higher strength values were expected for those range of the LDEF that was designed and performed by
constituents having longer lengths. Another principle NASA.
parameter was the vibrational frequency for all the All the characteristic parameters for the Kevlar
predicted structures which were found to match those fiber/epoxy, manufactured by the same technique, failed
obtained by the FTIR results as shown in Table II. to achieve the requirements either by the ECSS and
Variation of those stated parameters not only affects ASTM or even by the relatively relaxed ranges
the constituents’ strength but also their thermal and confirmed by the LDEF.
thermo-mechanical properties [18].
TABLE II References
COMPARISON BETWEEN CONSTITUENTS VIBRATIONAL FREQUENCY
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[12] Al, B. S. (2011). Characterization of the gaseous spacecraft
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doi:https://doi.org/10.15866/iremos.v10i5.13687
Mahmoud Maher Osman, born in Cairo,
Egypt, in 1969. Bachelor of engineering in 1991
at production department, master degree in
material science at 1997 from Military
Technical Collage (MTC) and PhD in Material
science at 2002 from Strathclyde university,
Glasgow, Scotland. Working as lecturer since
2003.
E-mail: mahmoud_m@mtc.edu.eg
Dalia Elfiky, is a head of structural, thermal
control & space environment Department at
national authority of remote sensing and space
science. She has been a NARSS member since
2001. Dalia completed Ph.D. at Faculty of
science Ain Shams University. She was a PhD
student at Toyota technological Institute,
Nagoya, Japan from 2009-2011. Her research
interests lie in the area of space Environment effects on satellite
components ranging from simulation to experimental testing. In recent
years, she has focused on the space radiation effect on satellite
components.
E-mail: delfiky@narss.sci.eg
Gamal Mohamed Hassan, Ph.D. prof. of Radiation Dosimetery, Head
of thermometry and Ionizing Radiation Metrology division , National
Institute of standard, Egypt.
E-mail: gamalhassan65@hotmail.com

Authors’ information
Ahmad Mohamed Anwar, born in Alexandria,
Egypt in 1970. Bachelor of Engineering in 1993
at mechanical power and energy department,
master degree in mechanical design at 2007
from Alexandria university and PhD in
mechanical engineering at 2016. Working in the
materials selection and design since starting the
master degree in 2003, form 2009 till now
works as a space materials designer in the space technology center.
Recently, working in the field of space environment, its effect on
satellite structure and improvement of space materials properties
become the field of interest.
E-mail: msc.a.anwar@gmail.com

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