Universal Journal of Mechanical Engineering Vol. 3(4), pp. 147 - 150
DOI: 10.13189/ujme.2015.030405
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Heat Treatment of Mill-hardened Beryllium Copper for Space Applications

Mitesh Mankani , S S Sharma ^*
Manipal Institute of Technology, Manipal University, India

ABSTRACT

Beryllium-Copper (BerylCo) alloys serve as a suitable material for fabrication of satellite antennas due to their high 'strength to weight' ratio and favourable electrical properties. Conventionally, satellites use BerylCo strips that are at least 10mm wide. During the designing of nanosatellites certain dimensional constraints prevail that restrict the width of the BerylCo strip to 2mm. This poses various problems as a thinner Berylco strip, when coiled, loses its ability to retain the original shape upon uncoiling. Thus, the yield strength of the Beryllium-Copper strip must be increased by Heat Treatment. The method of Heat Treatment that is to be employed for the same is Solution Annealing followed by Ageing or Precipitation. However, while carrying out this Heat Treatment process, a problem is faced during the quenching phase because the thin strip experiences rapid heat dissipation into the air. In this paper, an attempt is made to adopt the conventional Heat Treatment method with suitable modifications to overcome the limitations.

KEYWORDS
Nano-satellites, Beryllium-copper, Heat Treatment, Solution Annealing, Aging

Cite This Paper in IEEE or APA Citation Styles
(a). IEEE Format:
[1] Mitesh Mankani , S S Sharma , "Heat Treatment of Mill-hardened Beryllium Copper for Space Applications," Universal Journal of Mechanical Engineering, Vol. 3, No. 4, pp. 147 - 150, 2015. DOI: 10.13189/ujme.2015.030405.

(b). APA Format:
Mitesh Mankani , S S Sharma (2015). Heat Treatment of Mill-hardened Beryllium Copper for Space Applications. Universal Journal of Mechanical Engineering, 3(4), 147 - 150. DOI: 10.13189/ujme.2015.030405.