Abrasive induced discharge in solar array drive assembly: Experiment and Monte Carlo simulation

Abrasive-induced arc discharge is considered a significant threat to the failure of Solar Array Drive Assembly (SADA). This study attempts to identify the causes of discharge faults in SADA and propose protective strategies. Experiments on the mechanism of abrasive-induced discharge using the equivalent structural components of the SADA electrical transmission and corresponding simulations using Particle-in-Cell Monte-Carlo-Collision (PIC-MCC) calculations are performed. The characteristic voltage-current curves, time evolution of arc and glow discharges of the failed structure were experimentally obtained. The results showed that the discharge characteristic curves with abrasives were higher and steeper than those without abrasives under the same voltages. Through simulations, the plasma distribution, electric field intensity, and potential distribution resulting from a break were obtained, revealing that the flow forms slightly away from the electrode tips, and the electric field distortion induced by abrasives has a significant impact on the discharge. Plasma discharge treatment was further conducted on the insulating material, and an increase in the flashover voltage of the treated insulating material was observed. The relationship between the discharge voltage of the structural component and the number of discharges was also investigated. The results indicated that there was not a significant correlation between the discharge voltage and the number of discharges. However, the presence of abrasives did have an impact on the discharge voltage. It is evident from the above that the failures induced by abrasion-triggered discharges inside the SADA cannot be overlooked. Treating the insulating material with plasma is recommended to increase its flashover voltage in surface flashover situations. This article represents original research, and its findings are of significant value in exploring the mechanism of abrasion-induced discharges leading to the failure of the internal conductive ring in SADA.