The Dust Proof in Magnetic Fluid Seal

Dust proof technology is essential in future lunar exploration to protect valuable equipment from tribological corrosion caused by lunar dusts. Magnetic fluid seal can serve as a reliable method for preventing dust from entering the sealed chamber and evade the corrosion of the detrimental dusts. In this study, dust proof property of low-volatile perfluoropolyether-based ferrofluids is fully characterized. The lunar dust simulants are separated from the ferrofluids by the magnetic buoyancy, where the magnetic forces are much greater than the gravitational forces. Based on that, the magnetic fluid seal can prevent the lunar dust simulants from penetrating the ferrofluid ring-cycle sealing barrier. According to experimental results, magnetic fluid seal can withstand pressures exceeding 0.14 MPa even when continuously exposed to dust contamination.