Development of independent mass determination method for interplanetary dust detector with piezoelectric PVDF film

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 20K14493
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 15020:Experimental studies related to particle-, nuclear-, cosmic ray and astro-physics
• Research Institution: Chiba Institute of Technology
• Principal Investigator: Hirai Takayuki 千葉工業大学, 惑星探査研究センター, 研究員 (30737888)
• Project Period (FY): 2020-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: 圧電性PVDFフィルム / 固体微粒子 / 宇宙塵（ダスト） / 超高速衝突

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In conclusion, it was not achieved to develop an independent method for estimating mass of dust particle on dust detectors using piezoelectric PVDF film sensors, which was the original purpose of this research project set at the beginning of the research. However, some important achievements were obtained during the course of this research project, such as a single impact method for 10 micron-sized particles and a technique for developing dust detectors combining a piezoelectric PVDF film sensor and multi-layer insulation for spacecraft. The latter, in particular, is an innovative technology that significantly improves the dust detection efficiency compared to conventional methods by providing a dust detection function to the multi-layer insulation covering a significant part of the spacecraft surface.

Free Research Field

惑星科学、宇宙工学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

惑星探査機などの宇宙機に搭載されるダスト検出器は、目的地（惑星など）に到達後はもちろんのこと、到着まで相当期間にわたる惑星間空間航行中にも科学観測・環境計測が可能な装置として、宇宙開発黎明期から現在にいたるまで多数の搭載実績がある。本研究の成果は、圧電PVDFフィルムセンサを用いるダスト検出器の搭載性、検出効率（センサ面積）を大幅に向上させるものであり、科学研究のみならず、今後益々活発となるであろう人類の宇宙活動・進出においても、例えば環境計測の観点などで貢献が期待される。