Study on the measurement method of polyimide electrical properties for flexible solar wing

Flexible solar wings with high energy density, lightweight, small size and large deployment area are one of the first choices for next-generation spacecraft. However, the flexible solar wings are subjected to irradiation in space and tensile mechanical stress, which produce the charge accumulation effect and result in electrostatic discharge. It is necessary to establish a test method for the conductivity and space charge behaviour of polyimide under tensile stress. The stress–strain characteristics of polyimide under different tensile stresses are studied by the authors. The longitudinal length-strain characteristics and transverse thickness evolution characteristics under different stresses are also obtained. The results show that the variation of film thickness with tensile force is only about 1% before the yield point. The polyimide films from 50 to 200 μm thick have similar yield and tensile strengths. The ultimate stress of the specimen decreases from approximately 126 to 103 MPa with increasing thickness. The thickness model of polyimide under tensile stress were obtained, which could accurately calculate the voltage amplitude applied on the specimens for measuring the conductivity under different tensile stresses. A basis for investigating the stress–strain characteristics of polyimide films under different tensile stresses are provided, which will facilitate the formulation selection and performance improvement of polyimide for flexible solar wings of spacecraft.