FY17 IRTD Flammability and Corrosion Testing of Lightweight Magnesium Alloys for Mass Reduction and Radiation Mitigation in Spacecraft Applications

This project tested the flammability and corrosion resistance of various commercially-available Magnesium (Mg) alloys compared to conventional aerospace metallic alloys to determine potential usage in space as secondary structure or other non-structural, non-fracture critical spacecraft hardware. Additionally, development of Mg-Li alloys was investigated as part of the project. These Mg alloys have the potential to reduce weight thereby producing upmass savings for flight hardware. The corrosion and flammability testing showed that there are surface treatments and alloying elements, particularly rare earths, which are favorable for space use. For corrosion resistance, even in the most severe of environments, there were treatments that performed favorable. Flammability testing provided substantive data that payload or flight hardware developers can use if they wish to use either of those alloys in their designs. One limitation that needs to be overcome for the low production rate of flight hardware (and is often encountered regardless of material or process) is the turnaround time for performing surface finishing on Mg samples. It is the hope of the investigators that apparent limitations for NASA use of Mg alloys based on unknown material properties are overcome by this project and similar projects in the future.

The Mg alloys have the potential to reduce weight thereby producing upmass savings for flight hardware. The corrosion and flammability testing showed that there are surface treatments and alloying elements, particularly rare earths, which are favorable for space use.

This is early/mid-stage (TRL 4) — the most realistic path in is NASA SBIR/STTR, which funds small businesses and research institutions to develop technology aligned with NASA's needs (equity-free, phased funding). Check whether a current SBIR/STTR solicitation topic overlaps with this project's technology area, or contact the project directly (above) to ask.

None of these are guaranteed paths for this specific project — TechPort itself doesn't have an "apply" button. Reaching out to the contact(s) above with a specific question is usually the fastest way to find out what's actually open.