Technology Transfer Licensing Opportunity: Self-cleaning Seals (electrodynamic Dust Shield Technology) (KSC-TOPS-101)

Description: In space applications, seals for hatches, suit ports, airlocks, and docking systems for pressurized volumes such as habitats, rovers, and space suits must be kept clean. This is necessary to achieve the extremely low leak rates required to ensure that crews will have sufficient breathable air for extended missions on planetary surfaces. Dusty environments, such as those of the Moon and Mars, pose challenges because seals (elastomeric and otherwise) – as dust accumulates on them – will no longer perform as designed, substantially increasing leak rates. Similarly, terrestrial applications involving environments with high dust concentration and pressurized systems (e.g., mining, material handling) must maintain clean seals to ensure safety and uptime. Motivated by the hazard lunar regolith poses to seals – and thus to achieving a sustained lunar presence – researchers in the Electrostatics and Surface Physics Laboratory at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) have developed seals that actively self-clean in a continuous or periodic manner.