Studies on white anodizing on aluminum alloy for space applications

A process of white anodizing in an electrolyte system consisting of sulfuric acid, lactic acid, glycerol and sodium molybdate was studied for space applications. The influence of anodic film thickness and various operating parameters, viz., electrolyte formulation, operating temperature, applied current density, on the optical properties of the coating has been investigated to optimize the process. The coatings were characterized by atomic absorption spectroscopic analysis, thickness and microhardness evaluation. The space worthiness of the coating has been evaluated by humidity, thermal cycling, thermo-vacuum performance tests and measurement of optical properties. The anodic film developed herein provides solar absorptance value as low as 0.16, and infrared IR. emittance of the order of 0.80. These results indicate that the process developed is suitable for thermal control applications in space environment. q1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.