Technologies > Thin Films > Behavior

A key area of research at Mevicon Inc. is the area of single surface thin film shells. Efforts are focused on advancing the state of the art in the following area areas of

• Fundamental Behavior
• Stowability
• Deployability
• Structural Scaleability

Example of a 0.5 m diameter form stiffened shell fabricated from 125 micron thick Kapton thin film. Note the fact that it is self supporting in 1-G with no need for pressurization or tensioning, unlike many competing approaches to realizing light weight thin film based surfaces

Formed Thin Film Structures/Shells

Mevicon Inc. is actively engaged in research on a wide range of future space structures technologies and application areas. These efforts are primarily centered on advancing technologies required to realize the potential advantages doubly curved thin film shells. i.e.

• Inherent stiffness
• Compact roll stowage
• Deterministic self deployment, and
• Self rigidization

Mevicon's recent activity covers a broad range of potential application areas ranging from the small (microsatellites) to the large (solar sails, large deployable concentrators, communication and spectroscopic precision apertures). Details about some relevant projects are provided below, including demonstration of some of the advantages of geometrically stiffened single surface shells (thin films are self supporting in 1-G, compact roll stowage, self deployment)