Additive manufacturing (AM) has progressed from rapid prototyping to rapid manufacturing of equipment for various industries, including the space industry, where polymer-based techniques like Material extrusion (MEX) are particularly interesting. Polyetherimide (PEI), Poly ether ether ketone (PEEK) and Poly ether ketone ketone (PEKK) are frequently chosen to manufacture end use equipment in MEX due to their desirable properties. Although some previous studies analysed the effects of protons, electrons, and UV, less is known about the effects of heavy ions from galactic cosmic rays (GCR) and solar particle events (SPE) on these polymers. This study investigated the effects of heavy ions from GCR and SPE on chemical (X-Ray photoelectron spectroscopy and FT-IR spectroscopy), surface (SEM-EDS), and micromechanical (nanoindentation) properties of PEKK. To achieve this, SPENVIS simulations were performed to quantify the fluences of protons and heavy ions experienced by satellites on orbit and the calculated fluences of ions were then implanted on PEKK to emulate space-like conditions for the first time in literature. MEX printed PEKK samples were irradiated with 57 MeV Fe ions to achieve absorbed doses up to of 80 Gy, representative of the total dose to which satellites are exposed throughout their transport and time in orbit and up to 200 times more. The chemical, surface, and mechanical properties of the PEKK samples were analysed both before and after irradiation. Results showed no significant changes in properties, indicating that PEKK has potential structural applications in long-duration space missions. This suggests that PEKK can withstand the harsh conditions in space and may offer a viable alternative to traditional metals.

中文翻译：

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研究 57 MeV 56Fe 离子和 9 MeV 质子对用于太空应用的增材制造 PEKK 的影响

增材制造 (AM) 已从快速原型制造发展到快速制造各种行业的设备，包括航天工业，其中材料挤出 (MEX) 等基于聚合物的技术特别令人感兴趣。聚醚酰亚胺 (PEI)、聚醚醚酮 (PEEK) 和聚醚酮酮 (PEKK) 由于其理想的性能而经常被选择用于制造 MEX 中的最终用途设备。尽管之前的一些研究分析了质子、电子和紫外线的影响，但人们对银河宇宙射线 (GCR) 和太阳粒子事件 (SPE) 的重离子对这些聚合物的影响知之甚少。本研究研究了 GCR 和 SPE 中的重离子对 PEKK 的化学（X 射线光电子能谱和 FT-IR 光谱）、表面（SEM-EDS）和微机械（纳米压痕）性能的影响。为了实现这一目标，我们进行了 SPENVIS 模拟，以量化轨道上卫星所经历的质子和重离子的注量，然后将计算出的离子注量植入到 PEKK 上，以在文献中首次模拟类似太空的条件。MEX 打印的 PEKK 样品经过 57 MeV Fe 离子照射，吸收剂量高达 80 Gy，代表卫星在其运输和在轨期间所受到的总剂量，最高可达 200 倍。在辐照前后对 PEKK 样品的化学、表面和机械性能进行了分析。结果显示性能没有显着变化，表明 PEKK 在长期太空任务中具有潜在的结构应用。这表明 PEKK 可以承受太空中的恶劣条件，并可能成为传统金属的可行替代品。