Investigation on low solar absorptivity of thermochromic material for aerospace application

Thermochromic material La _0.7Ca _0.2Sr _0.1MnO ₃ can changes its emissivity with temperature. However, a serious problem is that it has a large solar absorptivity to limit its application in space. In order to reduce the large solar absorptivity, multilayer films are designed. Based on the designed structure, the multilayer films are deposited on the surface of thermochromic material. The results of calculation and experiment for the solar absorptivity of thermochromic material and thermochromic material with multilayer films are presented. Investigation results indicate that the solar absorptivity of thermochromic material is reduced from 0.78 to 0.27 by designing the multilayer films on the material surface. This enhances the applicability of the material.