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 Materials
and Processes
for Spacecraft and High
Reliability Applications

Barrie D. Dunn
Springer Praxis Books

Astronautical Engineering
More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/5495
Barrie D. Dunn

Materials and Processes

for Spacecraft and High Reliability
Applications

123
Barrie D. Dunn
School of Engineering
University of Portsmouth
Portsmouth
UK

Published in association with Praxis Publishing, Chichester, UK

ISSN 2365-9599 ISSN 2365-9602 (electronic)

Springer Praxis Books
ISBN 978-3-319-23361-1 ISBN 978-3-319-23362-8 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-23362-8

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015948763

Springer Cham Heidelberg New York Dordrecht London

© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016
This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is
concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction
on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic
adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not
imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and
regulations and therefore free for general use.
The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed
to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty,
express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been
made.

Cover design: Jim Wilkie

Cover images: Front cover top—The Falcon 9 rocket streaks towards space from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Air Force
Station containing supplies, including the first 3D printer in space and a troop of 20 mice, for the International Space
Station (Courtesy SpaceX). Front cover lower—the assembly and integration of a satellite in SSTL’s clean-room
(Courtesy of Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd.). Rear cover—Vega VV05 in its mobile gantry prior to launch at
Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana (Courtesy ESA-M. Pedoussaut).

Printed on acid-free paper

Springer International Publishing AG Switzerland is part of Springer Science+Business Media

(www.springer.com)
Talking of education, ‘People have now a-days, (said he,) got a
strange opinion that everything should be taught by lectures.
Now, I cannot see that lectures can do so much good as reading
the books from which the lectures are taken. I know nothing that
can be best taught by lectures, except where experiments
are to be shewn. You may teach chemistry
by lectures—You might teach making of shoes by lectures!’

Samuel Johnson, 1766

(from Boswell’s Life)
This book is dedicated to Cato and Dennis
Preface

This book, as implied by the title page, is an extensively revised version of the former
“Metallurgical Assessment of Spacecraft Parts, Materials and Processes” published in 1997.
The present title has been modified to set it apart from the previous work and describe its
expanded content. The book has become more voluminous, this reflects the huge advances
made during the past 20 years when we have witnessed the increased usage of modern
materials and manufacturing techniques that were unforeseeable when the former book was
written. Also, the number of case studies and amount of general information has been
extended to become a source for engineers, space scientists, laboratory experimenters and
technicians. Although much of the book considers metallurgical aspects of spacecraft engi-
neering, there is now basic advice covering organic and ceramic materials as well as tech-
niques available for assembling them into essential sub-systems, reliable parts and structures.
A good number of the original illustrations are retained but many new ones have been
added. Several images reflect the quite remarkable outcomes of space projects. These include
high resolution images of Earth taken by satellites which are relevant for surveillance and the
forecasting of weather. Also included are fly-by images of enigmatic little moons and comets
captured by spacecraft after many years of voyaging in search of life and the origins of water
in our own Solar System. Equipment on-board the International Space Station and
satellite-based communications are mentioned. These have all been made possible by
breakthroughs in materials, processes and electronic-engineering.
Plato saw engineers as “doers” not “thinkers”. From ancient times no one expected engi-
neers to question what they were asked to build and consider the consequences of such
achievements. Nowadays engineers are more confident in their social role and have learned to
say “no” when the products are questionable or environmental damage may occur—the
generation of space debris is one pertinent example. Hopefully, some “lessons learnt” guid-
ance may ensue from the case studies and failure analyses recorded in this book. In 1986
engineers said “go” to the Challenger launch—other engineers said “no” but were over-ruled
and the space shuttle exploded shortly after lift-off. It is only in hindsight that we understand
that decision making can be extremely difficult, but such decisions must consider input from
all engineering disciplines and the recognition of material properties is vital.
A casual review of the Contents and Index will suggest to the reader that the subject matter
is likely to be of interest not only to spacecraft engineers, but in the broader sense, to workers
in quite different areas where metals, organic materials, composites, ceramics and glass are
used under terrestrial conditions or within high vacuum systems. Advancements in technology
always produce questions related to the reliability of new systems. Materials testing to agreed
codes of practice have been shown to help maximise the reliability of new materials, pro-
cesses, and applications. Metallography (or “materialography”) has led to an increased
understanding of failure modes. Much emphasis of this book has been placed on failure
analysis investigations. Each case must be developed in a logical manner—large-scale

ix
x Preface

(macroscopic) features are initially investigated, then the microscopic features of the materials
involved. Test specimen or samples of spacecraft hardware must be meticulously prepared,
then examined using both light and electron microscopy. It is amazing how these techniques
have evolved and how the recording of images has progressed. The author and his metallurgist
contemporaries may well remember early student days when contributions to reports were
exquisitely detailed hand drawn micrographs or images captured on photographic plates. The
digital revolution has now enabled all levels of detail to be recorded using super-resolution
microscopes and the future seems to be heading towards 3-dimensional microscopy.
In this book I have endeavoured to achieve a reasonable balance between general back-
ground knowledge and in-depth technical information. An elementary understanding of metals
and materials on the part of the reader is assumed. I have deliberately excluded a compre-
hensive account of the techniques employed in modern materials laboratories (unless
specifically related to unusual space material test methods). Many texts are available and cited
in the Reference section. The Appendices have been extended and include many Tables
related to: spacecraft materials’ properties; alloy comparisons as they may be procured in
different countries; a simplified M&P management guideline for universities; and, examples of
Declared Materials and Processes Lists.
The space industry is a key sector in driving economic growth and creating new jobs. By
2030, the global space economy is predicted to be worth £400 billion per annum. At the time
of writing, the European space manufacturing industry alone has an unprecedented overall
turnover at £6 billion and a total direct employment of 38,000 persons. New spaceports will be
established and spaceplanes are most likely to be the next generations’ means for transporting
commercial and scientific payloads into orbit. Many future spacecraft engineers, space sci-
entist and technologists, all specialists in their own fields, may be aghast that some funda-
mental, ‘old-hat’ information is contained in this book. But it is the lessons-learnt scenarios
that have brought us to where we are today. The industry is expanding and new employees
need to learn from our past mistakes and, at least, understand why certain design rules exist.
The wide acceptance of the previous book has been most welcome, and I hope the new
changes and additions will also find approval by my colleagues in the space industry and
others in the wider engineering community.

Bosham, West Sussex Barrie D. Dunn

December 2015
Acknowledgments

This book has been brought about by the blending of various published research and inves-
tigation projects that I have undertaken as a metallurgist for the European Space Agency, from
some written works of others and from personal friends. I am especially grateful to the late Dr.
Jacques Dauphin my former Division Head at ESA who gave the encouragement to undertake
the writing of the earlier book. He was a native of the French province of Lorraine, where the
motto is ‘Qui s’y frotte s’y pique’ which loosely translates to ‘gather thistles, expect prick-
les’—quite an apt maxim for those of us who have been involved with failure investigations.
I also acknowledge the help received from my former ESA colleagues: Dr. Ton de Rooij, Jack
Bosma, Guy Ramusat, Adrian Graham, David Collins and David Adams. Special thanks are
also given to Dr. Ernst Semerad, Dr. A. Merstallinger, Grazyna Mozdzen and Markus Fink
of the Aerospace and Advanced Composites GmbH (formally ARC), Wr. Neustadt, Austria,
with whom I have had many years of professional collaboration. As previously stated, there
has been a marked progress in this field of materials technology, resulting in significantly more
citations to references in this Edition, but even so, the bibliographic information certainly is
not complete. Where I have forgotten to cite a reference or credit an image I hope the author
will forgive my oversight.
I am also grateful to ESA and NASA for some of the illustrations used in the book. It
should be noted that the opinions expressed in this book are those of the author and do not
necessarily reflect the policy of the European Space Agency.
Let me add a special note of thanks to my late wife, Hanneke, my son, Martin, and my
daughter Harriet, for their patience through the spare-time hours that went into the making
of the previous Edition. Also, to Anne for her unswerving support and help editing this present
book. Stephen Hulcroft’s assistance at BlueFish Computer Services, Chichester is appreciated.
I also wish to thank Clive Horwood, and the staff at Springer Praxis Books in Germany
(Ms. Janet Sterritt) and India (Mr. Antony Raj Joseph and Ms. Sivajothi Ganesarathinam), for
their assistance during the publication of this book.
The author would like to thank all his colleagues and friends at the following organisations
who kindly supplied new information, reference material and photographs:
Torbjörn Lindblom, Celsius Materialteknik, Karlskoga, Sweden.
Dr. Michael Osterman, The Centre for Advanced Life Cycle (CALCE), University of
Maryland, MD, USA.
S. Clément, Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales, Toulouse, France.
Dr. H. Boving, Centre Suisse d’Electronique et de Microtechnique SA, Neuchâtel,
Switzerland.
H. Papenberg, DASA-ERNO Raumfahrttechnik GmbH (now Airbus Industries), Bremen,
Germany.
D. Bagley, ERA Technology, Leatherhead, UK.
Dr. A. Feest, The Harwell Laboratory, Metals Technology Centre, Harwell, UK.
W. Feuring, Heraeus GmbH, Hanau, Germany.
Massimo Bonacci, High Technology Center (HTC), Foligno, Italy.

xi
xii Acknowledgments

Poul Juul, Hytek, Aalborg, Denmark.

Messrs G. Kudielka and W. Maier, IFE, Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany.
Luca Moliterni and Gianluca Parodi, Italian Institute of Welding (IIS), Genoa, Italy.
Norio Nemoto, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Tsukuba, Japan.
Dr. Suman Shrestha, Keronite International Ltd., Haverhill, UK.
P. Fletcher, Airbus (formally MMS-UK), Portsmouth, UK.
Dr. Christopher Hunt, Martin Wickham and Ling Zou, The National Physics Laboratory,
Teddington, UK.
Dr. David Bernard, Nordson DAGE, Aylesbury, UK.
Jo Wilson and Bob Hussey, RJ Technical Consultants, Juicq, France.
Messrs Jörgen Svensson, U. Berg and Hans Ollfors, RUAG (formally Saab Ericsson
Space), Gothenburg, Sweden.
M.P. Hayes, The Spring Research and Manufacturers’ Association, Sheffield, UK.
Ian Turner, Cathy Barnes and Malcolm Snowdon, Spur Electon Ltd., Havant, UK.
Dr. R. Eckert, Standard Elektrik Lorenz, Stuttgart, Germany.
Dr. P. von Rosenstiel, Stichting Geavanceerde Metaalkunde, Hengelo, The Netherlands.
Luca Soli and Ulisse Di Marcantonio, Thales Alenia Space Italia, Milan, Italy.
Dr. J.M. Motz, Thyssen Guss AG, Mülheim a.d. Ruhr, Germany.
Stephen Kyle-Henney, TISICS Ltd., Farnborough, UK
Bill Strachan and Dr. Asa Barber, The University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, UK.
K. Ring, Zentrum für Verbindungs Technik, Gilching, Germany.
Robert Wm. Cooke, NASA—Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX, USA
Pablo D. Torres, NASA—Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL, USA
Dr. Fabiola Brusciotti, Tecnalia, San Sebastian, Spain
Contents

1 Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

2 Requirements for Spacecraft Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... 7

2.1 General Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... 7
2.2 Considerations for Materials and Processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... 10
2.2.1 General Considerations During the Selection
of Materials and Processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
2.2.2 Some Futuristic Ideas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.2.3 Some Basic Considerations Regarding Corrosion Prevention . . . 17
2.2.4 Space Project’s Phases and Management Events . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
2.3 The Effect of a Space Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
2.4 Materials for Space Launch Vehicles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
2.5 Non-metallic Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
2.5.1 General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
2.5.2 Classes of Non-metallic Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
2.5.3 Novel Non-metallics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
2.6 The Potential for Welding and Joining in a Space Environment . . . . . . . . 49
2.6.1 Background Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
2.6.2 Potential Joining and Cutting Processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
2.6.3 Expectations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

3 The Integration of ‘Materials’ into Product Assurance Schemes . . . . . . . . . . 55

3.1 General Product Assurance and the Role of Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
3.1.1 Product Assurance Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
3.1.2 Quality Assurance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
3.1.3 Reliability and Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
3.1.4 Materials and Processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
3.1.5 Component Part Selection, and Procurement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
3.1.6 Control of Ground-Handling Facilities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
3.2 The Materials Laboratory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
3.2.1 Major Objectives of Laboratory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
3.2.2 Facilities and Instrumentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
3.2.3 The Use of New Laboratory Techniques for NDT . . . . . . . . . . 85
3.2.4 Organic Chemistry and Environmental Test Laboratories . . . . . . 98
3.3 Preparation of Materials and Metallographic Evidence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
3.3.1 The Metallographer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
3.3.2 Laboratory Records and Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
3.3.3 Report of Materials Data to Spacecraft Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
3.3.4 Training of Materials Engineers and Laboratory Staff . . . . . . . . 103
3.3.5 Ethical Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104

xiii
xiv Contents

3.4 The Future for Materials Failure Investigations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104

3.4.1 The Larger Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
3.4.2 The Smaller Company. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
3.4.3 Product Liability. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
3.5 ‘Greener’ Spacecraft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
3.6 The Potential for Recycling Electronic Waste. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
3.6.1 General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
3.6.2 Elemental Distribution for Spacecraft Electronic Box . . . . . . . . 111

4 Spacecraft Manufacturing—Failure Prevention and the Application

of Material Analysis and Metallography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
4.1 Sources of Failure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
4.2 Drawings and Workmanship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
4.2.1 Design and Manufacturing Drawings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
4.2.2 Workmanship Standards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
4.3 Mechanical Damage Revealed by Microstructure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
4.4 Hydrogen Embrittlement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
4.4.1 Interaction of Metal with Hydrogen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
4.4.2 Hydrogen Embrittlement of Spring Steel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
4.4.3 Blistering of Plated Aluminium Alloy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
4.4.4 Examination for Titanium Hydride Precipitates. . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
4.4.5 Embrittlement of Copper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
4.4.6 Future Developments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
4.5 General Corrosion Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
4.5.1 Bimetallic Corrosion-Related Failures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
4.5.2 Corrosion Resistance of Anodic and Chemical Conversion
Coatings on Al 2219 Alloy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 132
4.5.3 Evaluation of Alodine Finishes on Common Spacecraft
Aluminium Alloys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
4.5.4 Cleaning, Passivation, and Plating of Spacecraft Steels . . . . . . . 137
4.5.5 Launch Site Exposure and Corrosion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
4.6 Stress-Corrosion Resistance of Metals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
4.6.1 Stress-Corrosion Cracking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
4.6.2 SCC Evaluation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
4.6.3 The Properties of Spring Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
4.6.4 Bearing Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
4.7 Control of Printed Circuit Boards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
4.7.1 Chemical Composition of Tin-Lead from Microstructure . . . . . . 148
4.7.2 Grainy Solder Coverage on PCBs and the Effects of Rework . . . 150
4.7.3 Evaluation of Multilayer Board Internal Connections. . . . . . . . . 155
4.7.4 Flexible Circuits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
4.7.5 Hot-Air-Levelled Circuit Boards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
4.7.6 Solder Assembly of Component Packages onto Multilayer
Boards with High Heat Capacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
4.8 Control of Composite Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
4.8.1 Metal–Matrix Composites for Space Structures. . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
4.8.2 Composite Contact Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
4.8.3 Fibre-Reinforced Plastic Composites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
4.8.4 Fibre-Reinforced Glass Ceramics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
4.8.5 Carbon–Carbon Composites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
4.8.6 Metal Matrix Composites for Spacecraft Pressure Vessels . . . . . 172
Contents xv

4.9 Control of Capillary Screens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... 172

4.10 Examination of Electroless Nickel Deposits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... 173
4.10.1 Microcracked Electroless Nickel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... 173
4.10.2 Electroless Nickel Plating of Aluminium
Electronic Housings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
4.11 Control of Electroforming Processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
4.12 Dip Brazing of Aluminium Alloys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
4.13 Considerations for the Assembly of Subsystems by Welding . . . . . . . . . . 181
4.13.1 General Welding Methods and Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
4.13.2 Electron Beam Welding. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
4.13.3 Laser Beam Welding. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
4.13.4 Explosive Welding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
4.13.5 Welding of Aluminium–Lithium Alloys. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
4.13.6 Welding of Thermoplastics for Space Applications . . . . . . . . . . 188
4.14 Control of Power System Weldments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
4.14.1 General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
4.14.2 Welded Solar Arrays. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
4.14.3 Suitability of Welded Battery Cells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
4.15 Problems Associated with Residual Stresses in Weldments . . . . . . . . . . . 195
4.16 Electromagnetic Emission from TIG Welding Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
4.17 Titanium Aluminides for High-Temperature Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
4.18 Shape-Memory Alloys for Spacecraft Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
4.19 Foamed Aluminium for Damping Purposes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
4.20 Superplastic Forming and Diffusion Bonding of Metals. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
4.20.1 Forming of Propellant Tanks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
4.20.2 Diffusion Bonding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
4.20.3 Superplastic Forming and Diffusion Bonding
in One Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
4.21 Cleaning of Mechanical Parts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
4.21.1 General Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
4.21.2 Metallic Surfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
4.21.3 Cleaning of Individual Parts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
4.21.4 Cleaning of Metallurgically Joined Assemblies . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
4.21.5 Maintenance of Cleanliness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
4.21.6 Cleaning of Silicone Contamination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
4.22 Novel Thermal Management Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
4.23 Cold Sprayed Coatings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
4.24 Advanced Plasma Electrolytic Oxidation Treatment for Aluminium,
Magnesium and Titanium Alloys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
4.24.1 General Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
4.24.2 Characteristics of PEO Coatings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
4.24.3 Applications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
4.25 Joining by “Friction Stir” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
4.25.1 Friction Stir Welding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
4.25.2 Friction Stud Welding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
4.26 Selective Brush Electroplating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
4.27 Control of Coatings and Bonded Items by Tape Testing . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
4.28 The Application of EB Welding Machine for Reflow Brazing . . . . . . . . . 239
xvi Contents

5 Metallography Applied to Spacecraft Test Failures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247

5.1 Application of Electron Microscope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
5.1.1 SEM Examination of Fracture Surfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
5.1.2 TEM Examination of Metallic Failures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250
5.2 Fasteners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
5.2.1 Spacecraft Fasteners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
5.2.2 Fastener Failure Due to Forging Defect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
5.2.3 Laps and Surface Irregularities in Threads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
5.2.4 Hydrogen Embrittlement of Steel Fasteners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
5.2.5 Embrittlement of Titanium Alloys. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
5.2.6 Galvanic Corrosion of Fasteners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
5.2.7 Contamination and Organic Fastener Lubrication Systems . . . . . 257
5.2.8 Metallic Particle Generation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258
5.2.9 Quality Assurance Controls for Fasteners. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
5.3 Thermal History from Microstructure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262
5.4 Effect of Inclusions Within the Microstructure of Explosively
Deformed Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264
5.5 Degradation of Passive Thermal Control Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266
5.5.1 General Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266
5.5.2 Low-Emissivity Surfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
5.5.3 High-Absorption Surfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269
5.5.4 Rigid Optical Solar Reflectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270
5.5.5 Flexible Second Surface Mirrors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
5.6 Sublimation of Metals. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
5.6.1 General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
5.6.2 Sublimation of and Condensation of Cadmium and Zinc . . . . . . 274
5.6.3 Heater Sublimation Problem Associated with Thruster Motor . . . 276
5.6.4 Sublimation of Klystron Cathode-Heaters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
5.6.5 Sublimation of Rhenium . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278
5.7 Beryllium for Spacecraft Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
5.7.1 General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
5.7.2 Health and Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281
5.7.3 Integrity of Machined Beryllium. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
5.7.4 Thermal Cycling on Work-Hardened Beryllium . . . . . . . . . . . . 284
5.7.5 General Etching Solutions for Beryllium . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285
5.7.6 Investigation of Microcracked Thin-Foil Detector Windows . . . . 286
5.7.7 Aluminium-Beryllium Alloys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288
5.8 Deactivation of Catalyst Particles for Hydrazine Decomposition . . . . . . . . 288
5.8.1 Testing Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288
5.8.2 Material Investigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288
5.8.3 Mechanism of Particle Deactivation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290
5.9 Cathode Emitter Degradation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291
5.10 Investigation of a Failed Spacecraft Antenna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293
5.11 The Wear of Ball Bearings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296
5.12 Cold Welding of Mechanisms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304
5.12.1 General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304
5.12.2 Cold Welding Due to Cyclic, Impact Loading . . . . . . . . . . . . . 306
5.12.3 Cold-Welding Due to Fretting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307
5.13 Defective Black-Anodized Electrical Connector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308
5.14 Contaminant Particles—Identification of Their Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309
Contents xvii

5.15 Silicone Contamination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310

5.15.1 General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310
5.15.2 Contamination of Black-Anodized Finish. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311
5.15.3 Contamination of Invar Moulding Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312
5.15.4 Removal of Silicone Polymers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314
5.15.5 Contamination of Aluminium Tubes for Vacuum Pinch-Offs . . . 317
5.16 Magnetic Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317
5.17 Thermal Stress-Induced Dimensional Changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319
5.17.1 General Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319
5.17.2 Stress-Relaxation by Thermal Gradients. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319
5.17.3 Thermally Induced Vibrations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321
5.18 Defects in Titanium Piece-Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323
5.18.1 General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323
5.18.2 Alpha-Case Embrittlement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323
5.18.3 Titanium Hydride Embrittlement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324
5.19 Leaking Water Tank on Launcher. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325
5.20 Compatibility of Liquid and Solid Propellants with Components
and Subsystems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... 326

6 Failure Analysis of Electrical Interconnections and Recommended

Processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329
6.1 Material Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329
6.2 Welded Lead Wire Interconnections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329
6.3 ‘Purple Plague’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332
6.4 Mechanical Electrical Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337
6.4.1 General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337
6.4.2 Wire-Wrapped Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337
6.4.3 Crimped Joints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339
6.5 Soldered Interconnections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 340
6.5.1 Introduction to Soldering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 340
6.5.2 Inspection of Soldered Joints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341
6.5.3 The Effect of Thermal Fatigue on Solder-Assembled
Leaded Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ....... 344
6.5.4 Effect of Thermal Fatigue on Leadless Components . . ....... 351
6.5.5 The Effect of Thermal Fatigue on Semi-rigid
Cable Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 353
6.6 Problems Associated with Coatings for Soldering Applications . . . . . . . . 357
6.6.1 The Need for Coatings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 357
6.6.2 Surfaces that Can Be ‘Soldered To’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 357
6.6.3 Surfaces that Can Be ‘Soldered Through’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 359
6.7 The Use of Indium Solder Alloys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 363
6.8 Wires and Cables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 369
6.8.1 Selection of Plated Finish on Copper Conductors . . . . . . . . . . . 369
6.8.2 Effect of Ageing on the Solderability of Tin-Plated
and Silver-Plated Wires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ....... 371
6.8.3 ‘Red Plague’ Corrosion of Silver-Plated Copper,
and Plagues on Other Plated Stranded Wires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 375
6.8.4 Manganin Wire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 379
6.8.5 High-Voltage Wires, Cables, and Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . 380
6.8.6 Cold Welding of Stranded Wires and Cables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 380
xviii Contents

6.9 Problems Associated with Soldering Fluxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 380

6.9.1 Purpose of a Flux . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 380
6.9.2 Heat-Shrinkable Sleeves Containing Solder Preforms . . . . . . . . 381
6.9.3 Stress Corrosion of Component Lead Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . 383
6.9.4 Flux-Corrosion of Silver-Plated Stranded Wires . . . . . . . . . . . . 383
6.9.5 Selection of a Soldering Flux or a Solderable Finish . . . . . . . . . 386
6.9.6 Control of Galvanic Corrosion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 389
6.9.7 Cleaning of Flux-Contaminated Surfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 389
6.9.8 Flux Residues, Their Ingress into Top-Coat of PCB Surfaces,
and Bake Out After Cleaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 391
6.9.9 Conductive Anodic Filament (CAF) Formation
and Particulate Contamination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 394
6.9.10 Potential Health Hazards in the Electronic Assembly Area . . . . . 398
6.10 Problems Associated with Brazing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 399
6.10.1 Design Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 399
6.10.2 Brazeability of Materials and Braze Alloy Compositions . . . . . . 400
6.10.3 Brazing Fluxes and Their Removal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 403
6.10.4 Atmospheres for Brazing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 404
6.10.5 Safety Precautions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 405
6.10.6 Produce Assurance Applied to Brazing Operations . . . . . . . . . . 405
6.10.7 Inspection Criteria for Brazed Aluminium Alloy
Waveguide-to-Flange Joints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 406
6.11 Diffusion Soldering/Brazing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 408
6.12 Effects of Rework and Repair on Soldered Interconnections . . . . . . . . . . 408
6.12.1 General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 408
6.12.2 Cosmetics of Solder Fillets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 410
6.12.3 Effect of Rework Electronic Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 410
6.12.4 Effect of Rework on Plated-Through Holes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 410
6.12.5 Effect of Rework on Composition of Joint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 412
6.12.6 Recuperation of Unsolderable PCBs and Component Leads . . . . 413
6.13 Electrical Conductive Adhesives. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 413
6.14 Training and Certification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 415
6.14.1 General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 415
6.14.2 Certification for Electronic Assembly Techniques . . . . . . . . . . . 417
6.14.3 Understanding Process-Induced Failures
and the Importance of Workshops. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 418
6.15 Verification of Surface-Mount Technology and Prevalent
Failure Mechanisms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 419
6.15.1 Verification Testing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 419
6.15.2 Failure Under Mechanical Overloading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 422
6.15.3 Failures Due to Board Flatness Problems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 422
6.15.4 Failure Due to Co-planarity Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 423
6.15.5 Solder Joint Failure Due to Thermal Mismatch
Between SMD and Substrate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 425
6.15.6 Conductor Track Failure Due to Thermal Mismatch . . . . . . . . . 428
6.15.7 Failure of RF Cables Connected by SMT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 428
6.15.8 SMT Solder Joint Failure Due to Conformal Coatings. . . . . . . . 428
6.15.9 SMT Problems Related to Flux and White Residues . . . . . . . . . 432
6.15.10 Area Grid Array (AGA) Packaging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 434
Contents xix

6.15.11 High Voltage Interconnections and Influence

of Geometry (Workmanship) on Corona Discharge . . . . . . . . . . 442
6.15.12 Tin Pest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 448
6.15.13 Mechanical and Electrical Properties of Electronic
Materials at Temperatures Down to 4.2 K . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 451

7 Whisker Growths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 461

7.1 The Problem of Whisker Growth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 461
7.2 Analysis of Failures Due to Whisker Growth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 462
7.2.1 Molybdenum Whiskers on Metallized Miniature Circuits . . . . . . 462
7.2.2 Tungsten Whisker Growth Within Travelling Wave Tubes. . . . . 466
7.2.3 Metal Oxide Whisker Precipitation in Glass Seals. . . . . . . . . . . 466
7.2.4 Integrated Circuit Failure Modes Due
to Electromigration—Aluminium Whisker Growth
and Solder Joint Voiding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... 468
7.3 Tin Whisker Growths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... 472
7.3.1 Tin Whisker Growth on a Plated Steel Housing . . . . . . . . .... 472
7.3.2 Tin Whisker Growth on PCB and Other Electronic
Materials During Thermal Cycling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... 474
7.3.3 Tin Whisker Growth on Crimp Termination Devices. . . . . .... 479
7.3.4 The Nucleation, Growth and Mechanism of Growth
of Tin Whiskers—Results from a C-Ring Test Programme . . . . . 481
7.3.5 Some Properties of Tin Whiskers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 485
7.4 Precautions to Avoid General Whisker Growths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 491
7.5 The Creation of Lead-Free Control Plans. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 494
7.5.1 General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 494
7.5.2 Methods for Reprocessing Pure Tin Terminations . . . . . . . . . . . 495
7.5.3 Mitigation Approaches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 498

8 Assessment of Post-flight Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 501

8.1 General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 501
8.1.1 Hardware Return from Space . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 501
8.1.2 Raw Materials from the Moon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 501
8.1.3 Recent Investigations Using Retrieved Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . 503
8.2 Space Environmental Effects from Vacuum and Radiation. . . . . . . . . . . . 503
8.2.1 Organic Materials and Lubricants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 503
8.2.2 Radiation Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 507
8.2.3 Effects of Vacuum on Metals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 508
8.3 Temperature Cycling. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 509
8.4 Micrometeoroids and Debris . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 509
8.4.1 General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 509
8.4.2 Debris Emanating from Catalytic Bed Thruster Motors . . . . . . . 512
8.4.3 Returned Hardware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 514
8.4.4 Protection Shields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 515
8.5 Effect of Atomic Oxygen on Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 517
8.6 Decelerators and Heat Shield Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 524
8.6.1 General Examples. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 524
8.6.2 Beryllium as a Heat Shield . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 528
8.6.3 Alternative Heat Shield Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 531
8.6.4 High-Temperature Fasteners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 533
xx Contents

8.7 Manned Compartments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 535

8.7.1 General Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 535
8.7.2 Solder Assembly Defects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 538
8.7.3 Inspection of Spacelab Post-flight Hardware. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 542

Appendix 1: Coefficient of (Linear) Thermal Expansion for Selected

Materials (COE or CTE) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 557

Appendix 2: Properties of Printed Circuit Laminates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 559

Appendix 3: Reagents for Microetching Metals and Alloys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 561

Appendix 4: Conversion Table for Mechanical Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 565

Appendix 5: Aluminium Alloy Temper Designations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 567

Appendix 6: Metal Alloy Comparison Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 571

Appendix 7: Variation of Standard Free Energy of Formation

of Oxides with Temperature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 613

Appendix 8: Simplied Procedure for the Management of Materials,

Processes and Mechanical Parts—Possible Guidelines
for a Cubesat or Small University Spacecraft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 615

Appendix 9: Materials and Processes Standards Related to Space

(Released by ECSS, JAXA and NASA) as of 2015 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 619

Appendix 10: Examples of Declared Process Lists (DPL). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 621

Appendix 11: Examples of Declared Materials Lists (DMLs) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 625

Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 629

References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 639

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 655
 Introduction
It is always impressive to look at the hardware of space
ventures, whether in the form of launch vehicles culminating
with the successful launch and landings of the Space Shuttle,
of land-sited test chambers, of satellites being tested, of large
antenna dishes, or of complex electronic circuitry under high
magnification. But this is not the real space capability. The
real capability lies in the people, in their technical compe-
tence, and in their manipulations of the metals and materials
which have made space communication programmes and
space science programmes possible.
Every 24 h an average of 45,000 storms break around the
world. Meteorology is probably one of the oldest sciences,
but it is presently one of the least accurate even though the
four elements which enable the weather to be forecast
(clouds, atmospheric pressure, temperature, and wind) are
perfectly measurable. The various space programmes
undertaken by the US, the USSR, Europe, and more recently
Japan, India, China, South Korea and Brazil, are providing
considerable amounts of information about the environment.
The weather develops in a restricted area consisting mainly
of the troposphere, the lowest layer of the atmosphere, which
never exceeds 16 km in depth—barely twice the height of
Mount Everest. But no part of the atmosphere will act
independently of the other, and there is a continuing need to
answer such questions as, how stable is our climate, or, how
much additional atmospheric or water pollution can be tol-
erated without drastically altering it? Such knowledge comes
in many ways, and no more dramatically than in recent years
from sensors in satellites orbiting the Earth, as illustrated in
Figs. 1.1, 1.2, and 1.3, from observations and photographs
made by astronauts, and even by correlation with the
atmospheres of Mars, Venus, and Saturn which have also
been investigated recently by space probes and landers.
Wonderful images made by the Hubble Space Telescope
have focused on galaxies in an infinite universe, but this
orbiting observatory has also assisted in the expansion of
knowledge of our own planet. The greenhouse effect, in
which pollutants put into the atmosphere by the burning of
© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016
B.D. Dunn, Materials and Processes, Springer Praxis Books,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-23362-8_1
1
fossil fuels and industrial processes trap heat and lead to the
harmful warming of the planet, can be evaluated by using
the new Earth resources satellites. These remote sensing
spacecraft can also study deforestation, damage to the rain
forests of South America, Africa, and Asia, and the effect of
sewage and industrial waste on our oceans and shorelines.
Meteorology, Earth phenomena observations,
space-based satellite navigation systems (GPS) and com-
munications by satellites are four major areas of more
immediate interest where space technology can be applied
usefully for the service of mankind. GPS saves mankind
billions of dollars per year in wasted fuel for cars, aircraft
and wear/tear! The Galileo global navigation satellite system
(GNSS) should see 30 satellites in operation by 2019, pro-
viding users with horizontal and vertical position measure-
ments within a 1-m precision. Telecoms satellites in a
geostationary orbit, 22,236 miles above the Earth’s surface
enable internet signals to travel from one user to another
anywhere in the world within 700 ms. These satellites allow
us to speak and to see from one country or continent to
another; to receive the same television picture simultane-
ously in Britain, Luxemburg, America, Russia, or New
Zealand will educate and entertain the people of the world—
we may hope that the so-called telecom satellites will help to
abolish the frontiers of misunderstanding and ignorance.
This could be the key to the continuation of our civilization.
The aforementioned attributes to space also support the
United Nations’ goals of enhancing the literacy of everyone
on the plant, eradicating poverty and improving health.
Of particular concern to the space industries is the
unpredictability of the Sun’s weather. It has been predicted
that after years of relative calm, the years 2015 onwards may
see a period of more intense activity such as solar flares,
coronal mass ejections and magnetic storms. This so-called
‘space weather’ has been added to the UK’s National Risk
Register as neutron-storms risk degrading satellite data and
hardware, as well as on-Earth facilities that use sensitive
electronic components such as metal-oxide-semiconductor
1
2 1 Introduction

Fig. 1.1 Example of visible image: clouds appear white and space is seen as black (courtesy NASA)

field-effect transistors (MOSFETs). Five spacecraft, in the
project called High Energy Solar Physics Data in Europe,
will continue to observe solar flares, explosions on the Sun
and the magnetic phenomena that flings radiation and par-
ticles across the Solar System.
Permanently manned space stations such as the Rus-
sian MIR and more substantially, the International Space
Station—expected to remain operational until 2024—have
been realized. Chinese scientists are planning an orbital
space station where the core module will be launched in
2018, followed by two laboratory modules in 2020 and
2022. Settlements on the Moon are periodically proposed by
NASA and other space agencies, but since the discovery of
water-ice close to one of the lunar poles, this concept may
become a reality. The remarkable Mars exploration projects
involving orbiting spacecraft and rovers are establishing the
1 Introduction
Fig. 1.2 Example of infrared image of the Earth from space; cold and high clouds appear white. Warmer (low) clouds grey (courtesy ESA)
“habitability” of that planet. Now that it has been established
that water exists below the Martian surface, the future
presence of manmade colonies on Mars may not be just the
fantasy of science-fiction writers.
The advancements in space technology have been made
possible by many specific breakthroughs in materials science,
manufacturing processes and novel technological advance-
ments. Novel organic and inorganic materials have been
developed by new methods of synthesis and metallurgical
3
processing and these are facilitating the development of
highly sophisticated spacecraft subsystems and electronic
devices. As these developments have continued it is perhaps
surprising to note that, in the main, it is the ‘ordinary’ metals
and plastic materials and their related manufacturing or
assembly processes that find their way into the construction
of space hardware. Consequently we have now determined
that these ‘ordinary’ materials produce the greatest prepon-
derance of failures during the various stages of spacecraft
4 1
Fig. 1.3 Example of water-vapour channel image. Taken by Meteosat Second Generation spacecraft in 2006 (courtesy Eumetsat)
programmes. The understanding of material and component
limitations is a real requirement during the development of
spacecraft systems in order that materials engineers can
predict realistic margins of safety.
Failures may occur as a result of over-testing, overload-
ing, or over-pressurization when it can be demonstrated that
no fault is attached to the material itself. Other failures occur
because of poor choice of material, shortcomings in design,
mistreatment during construction, or when the part was not
adequate to withstand a particular fatigue or corrosive
environment. Spacecraft failures occur during their fabrica-
tion, assembly, integration, and environmental testing, and
the generally short period of approximately four years
between design and launch necessitates that failure analyses
are rapidly performed to identify failure modes and their
causes. This can be achieved only when sufficient informa-
tion is available about the history of the failed part, from its
initial composition and heat treatment, through manufac-
turing details to records of all post-manufacture storage and
testing. Fortunately, the high degree of surveillance by the
Product and Quality Assurance teams of space hardware
contractors usually enables proper documentation of most
details pertinent to a failure. This knowledge of the precise
Introduction
operating stresses and environmental conditions is of great
help in the diagnosis of a failure mode.
There is a grave danger that the line of development of
space equipment and instrumentation may be lost if care is
not taken to preserve documentation related to past failures.
Much information is contained in in-house laboratory reports
which are often filed and forgotten. This book may go a little
way to collate a small percentage of the examinations per-
formed by the author in order that similar design or pro-
duction problems may be minimized in the future. The
classical failure modes of fatigue, stress corrosion cracking,
hydrogen embrittlement, and the degradation of polymers by
ageing, outgassing radiation, etc. have frequently been
associated with spacecraft hardware. It is expected that
chemists, metallurgists and other material or manufacturing
engineers, who have metallic failures to contend with, will
be able to draw parallel examples to their work from the
illustrated case histories included within this book. Many of
these examples necessitate that some of the material
requirements for space flight are understood, as these are
frequently directly attributable to particular failure modes.
An overview of the specific requirements of spacecraft
materials is given in Chap. 2, and the role of material
1 Introduction
evaluations vis-à-vis spacecraft product assurance schemes
is described in Chap. 3.
The case histories have been selected from a large num-
ber of examinations involving standard material testing
techniques, and they are divided into three characteristic
groupings. Chapter 4 concerns problems encountered during
certain spacecraft manufacturing phases; Chap. 5 relates to
failures which possibly occurred during testing; and Chap. 6
concerns failures which may cause deterioration of electrical
interconnections.
Chapter 7 deals with the many aspects of whisker growth
as they might affect practising materials engineers associated
with structural materials, electronics, and space-related
industries. The case histories presented are limited to elec-
trical device failures that have resulted directly from the
growth of whiskers. Corrective actions are proposed for each
case, and it will be evident that the published literature does
not hold a solution for every situation.
Chapter 8 is a short overview of the effect that the space
environment has on materials. Here, examples are given
from the large number of analyses made on materials
returned from Low Earth Orbit (LEO). The effects of out-
gassing, temperature, micrometeoroids, and atomic oxygen
are illustrated from data amassed by Space Shuttle flight
experiments, the Long Duration Exposure Facility, Eureca,
Medet and materials retrieved from the Hubble Space
Telescope during its various repair missions.
The major tool utilized for each investigation is that of
microscopical metallography—a technique developed by H.
C. Sorby in the 1860s for the examination of geological
samples. However, the number of tools available to materials
engineers for the examination of polymeric molecules,
microstructure and the like, has increased enormously over
the last decade. It is often necessary to utilize advanced
instruments such as ESCA and Auger spectrometers, laser
5
microprobe analysers, high-definition radiographic units,
scanning-laser acoustic microscopies, infrared spectroscopy,
etc. as diagnostic tools for failure analysis. These are fre-
quently available on loan, or can be rented from local uni-
versities or research establishments. It must be emphasized
that the majority of these tools give very limited information
to the inexperienced. Only with sufficient practical experi-
ence or on-the-spot guidance will the investigator be able to
piece together information gained from various stages of
nondestructive testing, superficial binocular microscope
observations, physical and analytical tests, and
metallography.
In the scope of this book it is not possible to include a
description of the equipments selected for particular inves-
tigations, nor is there place for detailed accounts of the
methods which have been chosen. The traditional guidelines
applicable to all engineering failures have been followed by
the author who is indebted to his highly professional col-
leagues as well as access to well-equipped materials labo-
ratories and test facilities. As will be discussed, the majority
of organic material and metallurgical investigations are made
during hardware production or after equipment level testing.
Some defective items also originate from units or structures
which have been installed on-board engineering or qualifi-
cation model spacecraft, so that results and recommenda-
tions from ‘material and failure review boards’ can be fed
back to project designers and engineers. This procedure will,
we hope, eliminate future problems with flight model
spacecraft. This book deals not only with failure analysis but
also with the measures which may be taken for failure pre-
vention by improving product reliability. Finally, the term
‘failure’ can be construed to have many meanings ranging in
scope from the trivial to the calamitous. Throughout this text
‘failure’ is employed as a technical term meaning cessation
of function or usefulness.
 Requirements for Spacecraft Materials
2.1 General Background
The Space Age began in 1957, with an 83 kg Russian
Sputnik satellite bleeping greetings to a surprised world.
Since that spectacular beginning, intensive effort has gone
into the scientific exploration of space, exploration of the
Moon and distant planets, manufacturing of materials in
space laboratories, and exploiting orbiting satellites for
communication, navigation and observation of the Earth.
The early steps have passed into history, and most equip-
ment and instrumentation has been and will continue to be
replaced by lighter and more complex substitutes. The
remarkable achievements of the Apollo Lunar Exploration
Programme two decades ago still tend to overshadow the
unmanned automated satellite flights, and it is not always
realized that spacecraft orbiting above all continents of the
world have already revolutionized global communications,
maritime navigation, and worldwide weather forecasting.
These satellites are now vital links in a global network. They
would not have been economically or technically feasible
before the advent of near-Earth space explorations.
Satellite communications started on a commercial basis
with the launch of Early Bird in 1965, less than eight years
after the launch of the first Sputnik. This was the first
satellite to remain stationary over the Earth, and it was able
to provide a continuous connection between any two Earth
stations. Until comparatively recently these so-called ‘ap-
plications’ satellites were merely assemblies of separately
designed components rather than thoughtfully integrated
systems. Often component interfaces failed to match,
reducing the overall system performance.
These satellites, and to a more limited extent the ‘scien-
tific’ satellites, are now incorporating standardized subsys-
tems in an attempt to optimize performance factors including
weight, reliability, and cost.
It seems likely that the spacecraft designer has placed
greatest emphasis on mass, as this is usually set by the
© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016
B.D. Dunn, Materials and Processes, Springer Praxis Books,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-23362-8_2
2
capabilities of the assigned launch vehicle which will take
the satellite from the Earth’s surface and inject it into the
desired orbit. The lighter the satellite, the cheaper will be the
launch costs. Another major performance factor, reliability,
can also be purchased if money is preferentially funneled
into reliability and test programmes rather than launch
vehicles. The important point is that performance factors of
weight, reliability, and cost are all interrelated. The designer
of an applications satellite will be more willing to pay for the
reliability level that would give him 10 years of operation
than the designer of a scientific satellite designed to shut off
transmission after only one year when the mission objectives
are attained.
One of the major aims of the European satellite manu-
facturer has been to set up a European communications
programme which will develop and launch long-life satel-
lites. A supporting technology programme has been under-
taken to develop and qualify most of the critical subsystems
that will enter the design of future operational satellites. An
experimental satellite (Orbital Test Satellite—OTS) was
launched in 1978 to evaluate and test the performance of the
various subsystems of future European communication
satellite systems. OTS and its launcher are illustrated in
Figs. 2.1a and 2.2. Its major subsystems under evaluation
included:
• communications—to relay information (data and com-
mands) between Earth and satellite and, in concept, to
and from other spacecraft.
• power supply—to provide electrical power to all satellite
subsystems.
• on-board propulsion—to provide thrust for orbit changes,
station-keeping, and deorbiting.
• Environmental control—to maintain specified tempera-
tures, radiation levels, electromagnetic environment, etc.
• structure—to support and maintain satellite configuration
on the ground, during launch and in orbit.
7
8 2 Requirements for Spacecraft Materials

Fig. 2.1 a OTS ‘structural model’ during vibration testing in 1975. France, 15 March 2013. This communications satellite is 7.1 m high
Thermal blankets are not yet fitted. This is the first ESA communication (ESA). c These 9 m-high spike-lined walls enclose the hushed interior
satellite and has a height of 2.5 m (ESA). b View of the Alphasat of ESA’s Maxwell test chamber, which isolates satellites from all
satellite, after tests in the Intespace’s anechoic test chamber, Toulouse, external influences to assess their electromagnetic compatibility (ESA)
2.1 General Background 9

b Fig. 2.2 a Launch of the European orbital test satellite (OTS-2, in

1978) on a Thor Delta rocket at Cape Canaveral. The 2 TV channels
and 5000 telephone circuits operated without defects between 52
ground-stations (between Norway and Egypt) (ESA). b Launch of
Alphasat—on the 25th July 2013, an Ariane 5 lifted off Europe’s
largest telecommunications satellite (ESA)

The general development plan for a new satellite type

such as OTS involves the building of several test models
such as a structural model, thermal model, and engineering
model (refurbished from the thermal model), before con-
structing the qualification model and finally a flight
spacecraft.
Alphasat, shown in Fig. 2.1b is a high-power telecom
satellite built by Astrium, through a public–private partner-
ship between ESA and UK operator Inmarsat. It is based on
the mighty Alphabus, the new European telecom platform
developed by Astrium and Thales Alenia Space under joint
contract from ESA and the French space agency, CNES.
Alphabus is Europe’s response to increased market pressure
for larger telecom payloads for direct-to-home TV broad-
casting, digital audio broadcasting, broadband access and
mobile services. Alphabus incorporates innovative tech-
nologies including:

• electric propulsion—to optimise the satellite’s mass in

favour of payload
• modular payload—including an antenna module which
can be adapted for different missions
• star trackers—ensure highly accurate attitude and orbit
control
• lithium ion cell batteries—charged from high-perfor-
mance solar cells

Whereas OTS generated 1260 W from its pair of solar

panels, feeding to two 24 Ah NiCd batteries and had a weight
of only 1490 kg, Alphasat can accommodate missions with
up to 18 kW of payload power and has a weight of 6000 kg.
Organisations such as the EU, ESA and NASA use mea-
sures to assess the maturity of evolving technologies which
can be related to devices, materials, components, etc.
Regarding materials, mechanical parts and manufacturing
processes, a new breakthrough or invention will not be suit-
able for immediate use and some basic research will have to be
conducted. This may lead to the technology being assessed for
feasibility, for development and later the technology may be
demonstrated in a laboratory environment. Validation of the
new material may be made according to certain test methods.
Mechanical parts may be qualified and manufacturing pro-
cesses may be verified by the testing of “technology
10 2 Requirements for Spacecraft Materials

samples”—these are the steps usually taken in order to get projects. At the other end of the spectrum, manned flight
approvals for space use by authorities (ECSS-Q-STD-70 safety management will differentiate between “systems
2014). As a guide, the following listing can be used to assess safety” and “payload safety”. Space systems safety will be a
the level of readiness of any materials technology: trade-off between complex project elements using flight
proven technologies—here astronaut safety must be of
paramount importance. Payload safety will consider the
Technology Readiness Description materials, mechanical parts and manufacturing processes and
Level whether the payload is essential for flight operations and crew
TRL 1 Basic principles observed and safety. Payloads and experiments can fail and not cause a risk
reported to the astronauts. However, the materials from which they are
TRL 2 Technology concept and/or manufactured will be of particular concern as these may
application formulated operate beyond their intended temperatures; it is essential that
TRL 3 Analytical and experimental these, usually non-metallic materials, do not release toxic
critical function and/or charac- substances by off-gassing, nor any fire hazard because of the
teristic proof-of-concept flammable nature of the piece-part.
TRL 4 Component and/or breadboard
validation in laboratory
environment 2.2 Considerations for Materials
TRL 5 Component and/or breadboard and Processes
validation in relevant
environment 2.2.1 General Considerations During
TRL 6 System/subsystem model or the Selection of Materials
prototype demonstration in a and Processes
relevant environment (ground or
space) The change of emphasis in Europe from building scientific
TRL 7 System prototype demonstration satellites during the 1970’s with designed mission lives of
in a space environment one or two years to the production of a new generation of
TRL 8 Actual system completed and application satellites, which must be assured for periods of
“Flight qualified” through test greater than twenty years in a somewhat hostile space
and demonstration (ground or environment, has necessitated that a greater effort is placed
space) on confirming the reliability of many materials and tech-
TRL 9 Actual system “Flight proven” nologies which have previously been accepted as virtually
through successful mission fault-free. Additionally, the new modular approach and the
operations drive to standardize subsystems for easy and economical
adaptation for different satellite missions has led to long
The reader may consider the above Technology Readiness ground storage periods. This can cause material degradation
Levels (TRLs) during the selection of materials and processes problems, particularly the decay of liquid and solid fuels and
for a new application intended for use on board a spacecraft the general corrosion of sensitive surfaces and even stress
or even during the construction of a ground station (launch corrosion of structural elements. A listing of materials
site). Obviously for any technology: the lower the TRL the approved and utilized for the fabrication of a satellite such as
more time and effort will be required before the approving the aforementioned Orbital Test Satellite in 1975 included at
authority can give authorisation for its incorporation into a least 500 different organic and inorganic materials. Each was
space system. The concept of TRL’s will not be addressed preliminarily approved for use in a given application, bear-
during the following chapters of this book as every approval ing in mind the environmental conditions it has been
of a space material, mechanism and process will depend on designed to withstand. The Declared Materials Lists asso-
the very precise requirements of a given space project. For ciated with multipurpose space platforms for large
some projects there may be an accepted higher level of risk telecommunications payloads, such as the 6.6 t Alphasat
involved during the selection of technologies. Low budget launched in 2013, involve more than 1000 different mate-
space flight experiments, providing they do not constitute a rials. Until the late 1980s metallic materials have been the
risk to the overall project, might choose to fly breadboard basic building materials of all satellites and launch vehicles
models that can give sufficient data return to university with only a limited number of inroads from carbon fibre
2.2 Considerations for Materials and Processes
reinforced plastics (CFRP). Because of their exact alignment
requirements some solar panels, dish antennas, and antenna
platforms are fabricated from CFRP which, because of its
small coefficient of expansion, will retain dimensional
accuracy under the changing temperature conditions of an
orbit (−160 to +180 °C). Launch vehicles, satellites, space
probes and manned modules are predominantly built by
industrial concerns engaged in aircraft manufacture (e.g.
“prime contractors” such as Boeing, Airbus, Lockheed
Martin, Alenia, Aerospatiale and Astrium). Because of this,
designers will prefer to choose structural and mechanical
parts from traditional metal alloys and composites, and will
limit manufacturing to joining and finishing technologies
which already exist in their respective plants. When com-
pared to a mass production industry there is often little
incentive to promote the use of advanced materials and
alloys which may improve reliability and be weight-saving
but will suffer the drawback of requiring costly fundamental
testing and qualification before being incorporated into space
hardware.
Discussions between customers, prime contractors and
their sub-tier suppliers involve contract requirement negoti-
ations related to Materials and Processes issues and a con-
siderable number of reviews will take into account such topics
as design, materials selection, and fabrication processes.
These are held throughout the various stages of every space
project, from inception on the drawing board until the envi-
ronmental testing and qualification of manufactured hardware
prior to launch. However, it is not until the actual hardware is
seen that one is struck by the results of cooperation between
the many engineering disciplines. It is probable that the
introduction of computer-aided design now means that
spacecraft subassemblies and piece-parts are being fabricated
to the closest tolerances ever achieved. The optimization of
structural weight and the smaller design margins mean that a
thorough knowledge of the materials selected for the appli-
cation must be well established. This is particularly true for
new, advanced materials, as the small design margins means
there is no longer a reserve of strength built into the structure,
as was the case for earlier spacecraft, to cover ignorance of
design loads or stress intensities. The safety margins required
of materials are real, but the over-conservative designs orig-
inating from so-called ‘gloom factors’ or scatter in materials
properties should be a thing of the past.
To illustrate the accuracy demanded of modern machin-
ing capabilities one can consider the unfortunate situation of
the flawed primary mirror of the Hubble Space Telescope
(HST). The prime objective of the HST mission was to
obtain images of astronomical objects in approximately ten
times sharper detail than that obtained by ground-based
telescopes. The HST 2.4 m mirror was designed to be a
precisely calculated hyperboloid. Although the mirror is
actually smooth to a precision of 1/64 the wavelength of
11
light (or one-millionth of an inch), a calculation error caused
the mirror which was originally launched to have been
fabricated with a curvature that was too shallow with a total
centre-to-edge error of about 2 µm (or 1/50 thickness of a
human hair). The result was that light rays hitting the mirror
edges eventually made focus to a point that was slightly
away from where light rays from the centre of the mirror
focused: a defect called spherical aberration. The HST,
delayed three years by the Challenger disaster, was launched
in April 1990. Despite the flawed mirror, which rendered
many of Hubble’s initial observations fuzzy, the new
spaceborne telescope quickly demonstrated the advantages
of an orbiting platform free from the interference of the
Earth’s atmosphere. After the dramatic December 1993
repair mission, using astronauts from Space Shuttle
Endeavour to correct the mirror and solar panel (see Sect. 8.
2) problems, Hubble began to demonstrate its full potential
to peer into the universe.
2.2.2 Some Futuristic Ideas
Advanced materials are finding more and more applications
in new designs, and this is particularly true of reinforced
polymers based on carbon or Kevlar fibres, clean materials
(with low outgassing), and several new types of lightweight
metal alloys. The microminiature electronic circuits so
important for the relay of enormous volumes of data within a
fraction of a second are also incorporating new materials
with unique physical characteristics. Microdevices continue
to be designed and prototyped (David 1996)—today these
are termed micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS).
Although many MEMS devices have been manufactured, to
date, the only devices that have flown are accelerometers and
gyroscopes (de Rooij 2009). In the USA, the JPL Centre for
Space Microelectronics Technology has already produced a
micro seismometer having a diameter of 12 mm and a
‘camera on a chip’ about the size of a fingernail. These kinds
of advancement will certainly lead to smaller, lighter, and
less costly spacecraft for the future. Even the so-called ‘nano
satellite’, weighing about 1–2 kg, is thought to be feasible
due to breakthroughs in small-scale engineering of MEMS.
The cost of launching a satellite into LEO by the Space
Shuttle was about £14,000 per kilogram and now, £5000 to
£12,000 per kilogram when an ELV is selected. Costs to
place a spacecraft into a geosynchronous transfer orbit
(GTO) are estimated to be between and £20,000 per kilo-
gram. Either launch vehicles should become less expensive,
or satellites need redesigning to become far smaller and
lighter so that multiple payloads (or even nanosats) can be
launched simultaneously. A proliferation in the number of
miniaturised satellites (often referred to as CubeSats) have
been built by companies such as Clyde Space and SSTL
Another random document with
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 PLATE II.
[Photo by W. Cottrell
Hightown, Manchester.]
EXTERNAL CHIMNEY SCAFFOLD.
Erected for the Willesden Electric Lighting Works, under the supervision of E.
Willis, Esq., a.m.i.c.e., etc.
When the chimney is to be erected by external scaffolding the
ordinary mason’s or bricklayer’s scaffold is used. Owing to the small
area of the erection the outside frames of the scaffold have a quick
return. This makes it practically impossible for the scaffold to fail by
breaking away from the building under the influence of the loads it
may carry. Shoring or tying is therefore not so important. Wind
pressures have, however, a greater effect, especially when the
direction is not at right angles to one of the faces of the scaffold. If in
that direction, the tied putlogs would offer resistance. Braces are
therefore imperative, and they should be fixed at right angles to each
other, each pair thus bracing a portion of the height of the scaffold
equal to its width. (See plate 2.)
For the repair of chimney shafts without scaffolding from the
ground level, means have to be taken to bring, first the mechanic,
and afterwards his material, within reach of the work.
 Fig. 27
The preliminary process of kite-flying is now rarely seen, except
for square-topped chimneys, and even in these cases the delay that
may arise while waiting for a suitable steady wind is a drawback to
its practice. The kites used are about 10 feet long and 8 feet wide.
They are held at four points by cords which continue for a distance of
about 16 feet, and then unite into one. Near this point on the single
rope another cord is attached, which serves to manipulate the kite
into position.
Stronger ropes or chains are then pulled over the shaft, after
which a workman ascends, and the necessary pulley wheels and
timbers to form a regular means of ascent are sent up after him.
A light line carried up in the interior of the shaft by a hot-air balloon
is another means of communication.
The most certain and safest method of ascent is to raise on the
exterior of the shaft a series of light ladders, which are lashed to
each other and firmly fixed to the chimney as they ascend.
The ladders have parallel sides, and are used up to 22 feet in
length.
One method of fixing is as follows:—
A ladder is placed against the shaft on its soundest side. It rests at
its top end against a block of wood slightly longer than the width of
the ladder, and which keeps it from 7 to 9 inches away from the wall.
This space allows room for the workmen’s feet when climbing. The
ladder is then fixed by two hooks of round steel driven into the wall,
one on each side immediately under the blocks, the hooks turning in
and clipping the sides of the ladder (fig. 28). The hooks, which have
straight shanks of 7⁄8-inch diameter with wedge-shaped points, are
driven well home, as the stability of the erection depends upon their
holding firmly.
Above the top end of the ladder a steel hook is driven into the wall
on which a pulley block can be hung, or instead, a pin with a ring in
its head can be so fixed. A rope from the ground level is passed
through this block or ring, and reaches downward again for
connection to the ladder next required. The connection is made by
lashing the rope to the top rung and tying the end to the seventh or
eighth rung from the bottom; this causes the ladder to rise
perpendicularly. The steeplejack who is standing on the already fixed
ladder cuts the top lashing as the hoisted ladder reaches him, and
guides it into its place as it rises. When the rung to which the rope is
tied reaches the pulley block, the ladders should overlap about 5
feet. They are at once lashed together at the sides, not round the
rungs.
 Fig. 28
The workmen can now climb higher, driving in hooks round the
sides, and under the rungs of the ladder alternately, lashings being
made at each point. A wooden block is placed under the top end of
the last ladder and fixed as before. The hoisting rope, which has
been kept taut meanwhile, is now loosened and the process
repeated.
The ladders rise in this manner until the coping of the shaft is
reached. Here, owing to the projection of the cap which throws the
ladders out of line, it is impossible to lash the top ladder to the lower.
To overcome the difficulty, the wall is drilled in two places
immediately over the topmost fixed ladder, and expansion bolts are
fitted therein. To these bolts the lower end of the top ladder is tied.
The hoisting rope is then tightened sufficiently to hold the ladder, and
by this means the workmen are enabled to reach the top of the shaft.
A variation of this method of climbing is to replace the wooden
blocks by iron dogs with 9-inch spikes, which should be driven well
into the wall. Short ladders of about 10 feet in length are then used,
these being lashed to the dogs as they rise.
Another method of fixing the ladders is shown in fig. 29.
 Fig. 29
In this case eye-bolts are driven horizontally into the wall in pairs,
rather wider apart than the width of the ladders.
Iron rods hook into these and are fastened to the ladder sides by
thumb screws.
The ladders rise above each other and are connected by 3-inch
sockets.
When fixed, they stand about 18 inches from the wall. This is an
advantage, as it enables the workmen to climb on the inside of the
ladders, thus lessening the strain on the eye-bolts, and the ladder
can more easily pass a projecting chimney cap.
On the other hand, the whole weight of the ladders rests upon the
bottom length, so that if through any cause it gave way, for instance
under accidental concussion, the entire length would most certainly
collapse.
This danger could be avoided if the ladders were supported on
brackets as fig. 30. No reliance should be placed upon the thumb
screws, as they may work loose under vibration. Danger from this
source would be avoided if the slot in which the ladder peg moved
was made as shown in fig. 30.

Fig. 30
 The necessary repairs can be carried out by means of boats,
cradles, or scaffolding.
Cradles and boats are swung from balk timbers laid across the top
of the shaft, or from hooks where the design of the chimney permits,
as shown in fig. 31.
The common method of fixing light scaffolds round a chimney or
steeple is shown in fig. 32. They are most easily fixed to square or
other flat-sided erections. The scaffolder having by means of ladders
or boats reached the desired height, fixes a putlog by means of
holdfasts to one of the walls. Another putlog is then fixed on the
opposite side of the building at the same level. The two are next
bolted together by 1-inch iron bolts of the required length. The bolts
are kept as near to the wall as possible. The process is repeated
again about 6 feet higher on the building. The boards for the
platforms are next laid. The first are placed at right angles to the
putlogs and project sufficiently to carry the boards which are laid
parallel to the putlogs. To prevent the boards rising when weight is
applied at one side of the scaffold, iron plates bolted together (fig.
33) are fixed at the corners, and clips (fig. 34) connect them to the
putlogs.
Fig. 31

Fig. 32
 Fig. 33
The stability of these scaffolds depends upon fixing at least two
sets of putlogs, connected by means of stays as shown in fig. 32.
Bracing is unnecessary if the putlogs and bolts tightly grip the
building. When these scaffolds are used on circular chimneys,
chucks have to be fitted on the inside of the putlogs to prevent them
being drawn by the bolts to a curve. The chucks (fig. 35) can be
fastened to the putlogs before they are fixed, if the curve of the
building is accurately known. When this is not the case, the putlogs
are fixed by a holdfast at their centre. The chucks are then placed in
position, and clamped to the putlogs as shown in fig. 36.
Additional holdfasts are then driven into the wall immediately
under the chucks, so that the putlogs are kept level.
 Fig. 34

Fig. 35
The putlogs are fixed on edge, and when not exceeding 16 feet in
length are 7 in. by 3 in. Above that length they are 9 in. by 3 in. The
stays should be 4 in. by 2 in., and connected to the putlogs by 5⁄8-
inch iron bolts. The platform is usually of three boards 11 in. by 2 in.
Fig. 36
 Fig. 37
Hollow towers are erected or repaired in the same manner as
chimney shafts, except that climbing ladders are not often required.
External or internal scaffolds may be erected. Towers being usually
of larger area than chimney shafts, the putlogs for internal
scaffolding are often of short poles from 6 to 8 inches diameter. Even
these may require extra support. This is gained by carrying
standards from the ground level or other solid foundation and tying to
the putlogs. If of great height the standards may be unable to carry
their own weight. For the cases where danger might be apprehended
from this cause, fig. 37 shows a system of framing, which, being
supported by the set-back in the thickness of the wall, will carry the
upper standards.
Steeples are generally built by the aid of external scaffolds, which,
as in the case of chimney shafts, should be well braced. The lower
portion may also be repaired in this way, the standards rising from
the ground level, or, if so designed, from the top of the tower. A
series of needles could be arranged for the higher portions.

Fig. 38

Domes and arches.—The scaffolding for domes and arches

consists of a series of standards standing upon the area covered by
the building, and connected by ledgers and braces in directions at
right angles to each other. The platform is laid on the top ledgers.
 When the building is of large span square timbers are often used,
balks for standards and runners, and half timbers for struts and
braces.
Fig. 38 shows a design for repairing roofs and arches where a
roadway has to be kept below.

Swinging scaffolds. Painters’ boats or cradles.—Painters’

boats are useful scaffolds for the repair of buildings, more especially
where the work is light. Fig. 39 shows the general construction. They
are suspended from jibs, fixed usually on the roof for outside work,
and by means of blocks and falls they can be moved in a vertical
direction by the workmen when in the boat.

Fig. 39
The boats are fitted with guard boards and rails, and their safety,
providing the jibs are well fixed by balancing weights, is in their
favour. They are not self-supporting, and there is a distinct danger of
their running down if the sustaining ropes are not securely fastened
off. The wind causes them to sway considerably, and their use is
confined chiefly to façade work. An improved cradle is now in
general use, which is slung by head blocks from a wire cable running
between two jibs (see fig. 40). By the aid of guy lines movement in
this case can be also obtained horizontally, which removes the
necessity of shifting the jibs or employing a greater number of boats
as in the older method.

Fig. 40
 Fig. 41
Another cradle as shown in fig. 41 has advantages which cannot
be ignored. It has steel cables with a breaking weight of 15 cwt.
instead of fibre ropes, and the cradle is raised and lowered by
means of gearing and a drum fixed in the gear case A. It is self-
supporting, and therefore safer than the cradle mentioned above.
The lower ends of the cable are fastened to the drum, and the
gearing gives sufficient mechanical advantage for one man to raise
the scaffold by turning the handle B. The uprights and rails are of
angle steel or barrel and will take apart and fold.
 Fig. 42
The boatswain’s boat (see fig. 42) is useful under some
circumstances, especially for making examinations of buildings for
possible damage. It is dangerous and awkward to work from, and is
also acted upon considerably by the wind.
The boat is slung from a single needle. The workman has no
control over its movement, as he has to be raised or lowered as
required by men having charge of the other end of the fall.