Internal Breakdown of Charged Spacecraft Dielectrics

The primary purpose of this paper is to suggest that low differential voltage, small energy discharges associated with internal buried charge may be a dominant mechanism by which stored electrostatic energy is released from dielectrics on board orbiting spacecraft. The evidence from space as given b...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:IEEE transactions on nuclear science 1981-12, Vol.28 (6), p.4529-4534
Main Authors: Beers, B. L., Pine, V. W., Ives, S. T.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Breakdown voltage
Dielectric breakdown
Dielectric substrates
Electric breakdown
Electron beams
Low voltage
Magnetic field measurement
Space vehicles
Surface charging
Surface discharges
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The primary purpose of this paper is to suggest that low differential voltage, small energy discharges associated with internal buried charge may be a dominant mechanism by which stored electrostatic energy is released from dielectrics on board orbiting spacecraft. The evidence from space as given by Stevens is noted. Laboratory experimental evidence of Frederickson is invoked to demonstrate that discharges occur under circumstances with no external potential drop. Previous calculations are then reviewed which indicate that significant internal electric fields can exist in dielectrics charged with multiple-kilovolt electron beams under conditions involving little or no external potential drop. The internal discharge mechanism of Meulenberg is recalled, and new calculations suggesting that the space environment is conducive to the formation of the conditions required by this mechanism are presented. Experimental procedures for checking the suggestions of the paper are developed.
ISSN:0018-9499
1558-1578
DOI:10.1109/TNS.1981.4335759