<8> M ASTERBOND CASE STUDY Master Bond Inc. 154 Hobart Street, Hackensack, NJ 07601 USA Phone +1.201.343.8983 | Fax +1.201.343.2132 | [email protected]

CASE STUDY Space-Based Solar Power Harvesting Research documents the use of Master Bond UV22DC80-1 UV+heat (dual) curable epoxy in a prototype concentrator photovoltaic (PV) system. The theoretical design treatment seeks to address the challenges in creating high specific power, ultralight PV systems for use in harvesting space-based solar power (SSP). Weight-reduction is critical for spacebased applications; launching the mass of the SSP system into orbit can be the largest contributor to operational cost.1 As such, designing an ultralight system with high specific power is critical to making...

delivering them to orbit. The CFRP has a high thermal emissivity and thermal conductivity allowing for efficient thermal management while providing a high specific power relative to the heavier flat plate designed PV’s. Details of the design prototype can be seen in Figure 1.1 Fabrication of the reflector involves casting 3- or 4-ply CFRP sheets over a parabolic mold. To allow for a smooth surface necessary for the manufacture of a highly reflective mirror, a smoothing polymer was needed to coat the rough surface of the CFRP. Master Bond UV22DC80-1 UV dual-cure epoxy was coated onto the CFRP...

Results After computational optimization of the design parameters, the authors found that the concentrator photovoltaic can potentially reach a specific power output that would prove feasible for space-based solar power generation. With a CFRP possessing the optimal thickness, and with the concentrators exhibiting optimal mirror and backside emissivity, the device could be capable of providing 4.1 kW/kg specific power. This fell within the target range of 1-10 kW/kg believed to be needed for cost efficient introduction to geostationary orbit. At present time, the commercially available prepreg...