BRITE Pivot: Leveraging Light-Matter Interactions to Create New Functional Sensors in Low-Gravity Space Environment

This Boosting Research Ideas for Transformative and Equitable Advances in Engineering (BRITE) Pivot grant supports research that contributes fundamental knowledge on material behavior when manufacturing in a low-gravity environment. Harnessing the low-gravity environment to create and process new material systems with extraordinary properties has never been more promising than it is now with rapidly increasing opportunities for long term access to space. The process of manufacturing ceramic nanocomposites in space involves vastly different thermal and transport phenomena and consequent material properties that are not yet well-understood. During the manufacturing process, the ceramic nanoparticles emit spectral signatures which are interrogated through light-matter interactions to elucidate the composite’s fundamental physical properties. The outcomes unleash new measurement capabilities that lead to better manufactured materials and the ability to create previously unexplored functional sensors. These sensors can be used to monitor parameters such as temperature, structural health, gas emissions, and others for applications on Earth and in space. This project contributes to advancing sensing and measurement technology for real-time health monitoring of various Earth- and space-based systems which benefits the U.S. economy. Broader participation of women and underrepresented minority students is achieved through outreach to bring the excitement of manufacturing in space to K-12 students and expand access to STEM education. Manufacturing in a low-gravity environment offers a means for achieving material with qualities not achievable on Earth. However, there is a lack of knowledge surrounding the exact physical phenomena, including greatly reduced buoyancy-driven convection and surface-tension driven convection, that leads to unique properties of particulate composites manufactured in a low-gravity environment. Limited studies on in-space manufacturing of nanocomposites have shown enhanced particle dispersion yielding homogeneity with some revealing better tensile properties but reduced flexural capability. This research aims to leverage light-matter interactions to reveal the effects of microgravity on the processing of nanocomposites while tailoring mechanical and functional properties in these materials. With a focus on manufacturing of ceramic, lunar and planetary regolith nanoparticles in polymer matrices, this research leads with the investigation of polymer-particle interactions, measuring changes in intrinsic spectral emission properties under acoustic levitation and in low gravity parabolic flights. The results shed light on the impact of physical mechanisms in microgravity that lead to variations in particle-matrix bonding and dispersion with different polymer viscosity and curing profiles. This understanding is utilized in tailoring microgravity-assisted manufacture of functional sensors by direct ink writing. The project establishes relationships of spectral shifts with stress and damage and intensity decays of luminescent dopants to changes in temperature and gas environments. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.