Abstract
A unique shield system has been developed utilizing electrostatic force to remove dust breaking into bearings and mechanical seals of equipments used for lunar exploration. A single-phase rectangular voltage was applied to insulated parallel plate electrodes printed on a substrate at the clearance of the mechanical sealing part. Because the performance of the former system was not satisfactory at an inclined angle of 30°, we added support electrodes outside of the main electrodes so that the system with the support electrodes generates wide electrostatic field to improve the performance. As the result more than 80% of dust was repelled from the clearance, and it was predicted by the numerical calculation using the distinct element method that the cleaning performance to charged particles would be further improved in the low-gravity and vacuum environment of the Moon. This technology is expected to increase the reliability of equipment used in long-term manned and unmanned activities on the lunar surface.
