This Standard establishes the requirements for the specification, the procedures, the execution and the reporting of a thermal cycling test under vacuum for the evaluation of materials, processes, mechanical parts and assemblies intended for use in the fabrication of spacecraft and associated equipment. This is one of the tests to determine the ability of theses articles to withstand changes of ambient temperature under vacuum.
Typical materials or assemblies that can be evaluated by means of this test method are listed below.
- adhesives;
- adhesive bonded joints;
- coatings (paint, thermal and protective);
- insulating materials;
- metallic bonded joints;
- metallic samples, finished by plating or chemical conversion;
- metallized plastic films;
- organic or nonorganic bonding;
- plated surfaces;
- potting compounds;
- reinforced structural laminates;
- sealants.