Vacuum Heat Treating for Space Exploration

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Vacuum furnaces are highly flexible tools capable of providing numerous thermochemical conditions with various reactive gases at elevated temperatures and extreme pressures to alter the chemical or mechanical properties of materials. Conditions inside vacuum furnaces are equivalent to conditions found on the planets in the solar system.

Given the challenging environmental conditions on Venus, the hottest planet in the solar system at a constant 895°F with an atmospheric pressure 90 times higher than the air pressure on Earth, there are extreme difficulties involved in sending robotic spacecraft to Venus for scientific experiments. That is just what one company is trying to do. Honeybee Robotics, with three locations in the U.S., received NASA funding awards to contribute to developing future planetary exploration, space mining, and in-situ resource utilization. One of the projects is the High Temperature Venus Drill and Sample Delivery System to provide drilling and sampling operations in the conditions of Venus.

Honeybee Robotics selected Solar Atmospheres to provide heat treating for the robotic explorer on drive train components comprised of a specialized alloy, Ferrium C61. The alloy is designed as a high-strength, high-fracture toughness carburizing grade steel capable of high-temperature applications in corrosive environments.

Solar Atmospheres developed the difficult processing conditions required to optimize the properties for the specialty alloy and satisfy the demanding heat treat requirements. The drive train components are vacuum carburized at 1825°F, high-pressure nitrogen gas quenched, frozen at minus 150°F, and tempered in a vacuum at 900°F.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: honeybeerobotics.comsolaratm.com