Some Peculiarities in Laboratory Simulation of Polymer Film Degradation by Solar Vacuum Ultraviolet Radiation in a Space Environment

Abstract

A theoretical analysis has been made on the reliability of the simulation of solar radiation effects on polymer films under conditions of the space environment by using various light sources under laboratory conditions. Two main factors are noted that can influence the possible differences in the results of natural and laboratory tests; namely, the differences between the spectral distributions of solar radiation and laboratory light sources and the differences in the intensity of the radiation used in tests. It is found that at least two radiation sources are needed for the simulation of the erosion and the deterioration of the mechanical properties of polymer films. The effect of intensity occurs for polymers that are destroyed by radiation (a typical example is Teflon) and this has as a basis in the limited rate of evaporation of fragments of polymer chains.