Thermal fatigue analysis of solar panel structure for micro-satellite applications

Thermal fatigue analysis based on 2D finite difference and 3D finite element methods is carried out to study the performance of solar panel structure during micro-satellite life time. Solar panel primary structure consists of honeycomb structure and composite laminates. The 2D finite difference (I-DEAS) model yields predictions of the temperature profile during one orbit. Then, 3D finite element analysis (ANSYS) is applied to predict thermal fatigue damage of solar panel structure. Meshing the whole structure with 2D multi-layer shell elements with sandwich option is not efficient, as it misses thermal response of the honeycomb structure. So we applied a mixed approach between 3D solid and 2D shell elements to model the solar panel structure without the sandwich option.

Thermal fatigue analysis of small-satellite structure

The small-satellite thermal subsystem main function is to control temperature ranges on equipments, and payload for the orbit specified. Structure subsystem has to ensure the satellite structure integrity. Structure integrity should meet two constraints; first constraint is accepted fatigue damage due to cyclic temperature, and second one is tolerable mounting accuracy at payload and Attitude Determination and Control Subsystem (ADCS) equipments’ seats. First, thermal analysis is executed by applying finitedifference method (IDEAS) and temperature profile for satellite components case is evaluated. Then, thermal fatigue analysis is performed applying finite-element analysis (ANSYS) to calculate the resultant damage due to on-orbit cyclic stresses, and structure deformations at the payload and ADCS equipments seats.

Effect of the crown design and interface lute parameters on the stress-state of a machined crown-tooth system: A finite element analysis

The effect of preparation design and the physical properties of the interface lute on the restored machined ceramic crown-tooth complex are poorly understood. The aim of this work was to determine, by means of three-dimensional finite element analysis (3D FEA) the effect of the tooth preparation design and the elastic modulus of the cement on the stress state of the cemented machined ceramic crown-tooth complex. The three-dimensional structure of human premolar teeth, restored with adhesively cemented machined ceramic crowns, was digitized with a micro-CT scanner. An accurate, high resolution, digital replica model of a restored tooth was created. Two preparation designs, with different occlusal morphologies, were modeled with cements of 3 different elastic moduli. Interactive medical image processing software (mimics and professional CAD modeling software) was used to create sophisticated digital models that included the supporting structures; periodontal ligament and alveolar bone. The generated models were imported into an FEA software program (hypermesh version 10.0, Altair Engineering Inc.) with all degrees of freedom constrained at the outer surface of the supporting cortical bone of the crown-tooth complex. Five different elastic moduli values were given to the adhesive cement interface 1.8 GPa, 4 GPa, 8 GPa, 18.3 GPa and 40 GPa; the four lower values are representative of currently used cementing lutes and 40 GPa is set as an extreme high value. The stress distribution under simulated applied loads was determined. The preparation design demonstrated an effect on the stress state of the restored tooth system. The cement elastic modulus affected the stress state in the cement and dentin structures but not in the crown, the pulp, the periodontal ligament or the cancellous and cortical bone. The results of this study suggest that both the choice of the preparation design and the cement elastic modulus can affect the stress state within the restored crown-tooth complex.

Shape and Rotation Modeling and Thermophysical Analysis of Near-Earth Asteroid (1917) Cuyo

We are conducting an ESO Large Program that includes optical photometry, thermal-IR observations, and optical-NIR spectroscopy of selected NEAs. Among the principal goals of the program are shape and spin-state modeling, and searching for YORP-induced changes in rotation periods. One of our targets is asteroid (1917) Cuyo, a near-Earth asteroid from the Amor group. We carried out an extensive observing campaign on Cuyo between April 2010 and April 2013, operating primarily at the ESO 3.6m NTT for optical photometry, and the 8.2m VLT at Paranal for thermal-IR imaging. Further optical observations were acquired at the ESO 2.2m telescope, the Palomar 200" Hale telescope (California), JPL’s Table Mountain Observatory (California) and the Faulkes Telescope South (Australia). We obtained optical imaging data for rotational lightcurves throughout this period, as the asteroid passed through a wide range of observational geometries, conducive to producing a good shape model and spin state solution. The preliminary shape and spin state model indicates a nearly spherical shape and a rotation pole at ecliptic longitude λ = 53° ± 20° and latitude β = -37° ± 10° (1-sigma error bars are approximate). The sidereal rotation period was measured to be 2.6899522 ± (3 × 10^-7) hours. Linkage with earlier lightcurve data shows possible evidence of a small change in rotation rate during the period 1989-2013. We applied the NEATM thermal model (Harris A., Icarus 131, 291, 1998) to our VLT thermal-IR measurements (8-19.6 μm), obtained in September and December 2011. The derived effective diameter ranges from 3.4 to 4.2 km, and the geometric albedo is 0.16 (+0.07, -0.04). Using the shape model and thermal fluxes we will perform a detailed thermophysical analysis using the new Advanced Thermophysical Model (Rozitis, B. & Green, S.F., MNRAS 415, 2042, 2011; Rozitis, B. & Green, S.F., MNRAS 423, 367, 2012). This work was performed in part at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory under a contract with NASA.

Structure and thermal properties of salicylate-based-protic ionic liquids as new heat storage media. COSMO-RS structure characterization and modeling of heat capacities

During this research, we present a study on the thermal properties, such as the melting, cold crystallization, and glass transition temperatures as well as heat capacities from 293.15 K to 323.15 K of nine in-house synthesized protic ionic liquids based on the 3-(alkoxymethyl)-1H-imidazol-3-ium salicylate ([H-Im-C₁OC_n][Sal]) with n = 3–11. The 3D structures, surface charge distributions and COSMO volumes of all investigated ions are obtained by combining DFT calculations and the COSMO-RS methodology. The heat capacity data sets as a function of temperature of the 3-(alkoxymethyl)-1H-imidazol-3-ium salicylate are then predicted using the methodology originally proposed in the case of ionic liquids by Ge et al. 3-(Alkoxymethyl)-1H-imidazol-3-ium salicylate based ionic liquids present specific heat capacities higher in many cases than other ionic liquids that make them suitable as heat storage media and in heat transfer processes. It was found experimentally that the heat capacity increases linearly with increasing alkyl chain length of the alkoxymethyl group of 3-(alkoxymethyl)-1H-imidazol-3-ium salicylate as was expected and predicted using the Ge et al. method with an overall relative absolute deviation close to 3.2% for temperatures up to 323.15 K.