Theoretical investigation on degradation behaviors of spectral properties of thermal control coatings induced by charged particles

The degradation of spectral properties of thermal control coatings on spacecrafts is investigated in this paper. By studying their physical components and geometry structure, the factors which determine the spectral properties of the coatings are founded. A theoretical model for calculating the spectral absorptance of coatings is proposed based on the Mie's theory and Stratified Media theory. Mathematical expressions are introduced for accounting for the effect of the complicated environment. Based on these work, a predicting model for the degradation of spectral absorptance properties of the coatings is established. To validate this model, the predicted degradation performance of spectral properties of zinc oxide based coatings under electrons and protons exposure are compared with the experimental data. A good agreement is found at the wavelength between 250 nm and 2500 nm. Finally, a useful approach for predicting the degradation behaviors of thermal control coatings on spacecrafts in orbit is established.