Black Thermal Coating
Carbon-Black Anodized Aluminum Thermal Sink Coating
Carbon-black anodized aluminum thermal sink coating is an inorganic surface treatment applied to aluminum substrates to maximize radiant heat transfer and suppress stray light in lunar infrastructure. Engineered with a solar absorptance of 0.92 and an infrared emittance of 0.85, the coating allows solar thermal collectors to capture energy while enabling heat exchangers to reject thermal loads into the vacuum of space. Because the anodized carbon layer is thermally bonded to prevent flaking during extreme temperature swings, it maintains stable optical performance on star tracker baffles and passive radiator sinks over a 25-year operational lifetime.
Carbon-black anodized aluminum coating for high-absorptance/high-emittance surfaces (solar collectors, heat exchanger surfaces, optical baffles).
Purpose
Carbon-black anodized aluminum coating for high-absorptance/high-emittance surfaces (solar collectors, heat exchanger surfaces, optical baffles).
Context
Child of L2-PTC-COAT within the Lunar Ark system
Principles
- ▸High alpha (0.92) for solar absorption
- ▸High epsilon (0.85) for IR re-emission
- ▸Anodized layer thermally bonded — no flaking
- ▸Carbon-black or martin-black variant
- ▸Optical baffle stray-light suppression
Typical implementations
- ▸Aeroglaze Z306 black coating
- ▸Martin-Marietta black anodise
- ▸Industrial anti-reflection coatings
Lunar considerations
- ▸Solar thermal collectors for L2-ESS-THRM
- ▸Optical baffles for star tracker and instruments
- ▸Long-life inorganic preferred
Specifications
Functional
| primary function | Carbon-black anodized aluminum coating for high-absorptance/high-emittance surfaces (solar collectors, heat exchanger surfaces, optical baffles). |
| alpha solar | 0.92 |
| epsilon ir | 0.85 |
Physical
| mass kg | 5 |
| materials | Anodized Al substrate, Carbon-black dye |
| vacuum compatibility | True |
Operational
| power consumption w | 0 |
| thermal range c | -40, 70 |
| lifetime years | 25 |
| mtbf hours | 1000000 |
Interfaces
Provides
- Solar absorber surface
- Optical baffle interior
Requires
- Coating production
Cite this entry
Lunar Ark Codex. "Black Thermal Coating" (L3-PTC-COAT-BLACK). Retrieved 10 September 2026, from https://lunarark.com/entry/L3-PTC-COAT-BLACK
Licensed CC-BY-SA 4.0. You may reuse and adapt this entry with attribution, under the same licence.