The presented study relates to the technological aspects of the development and manufacturing of athermal protection system (TPS), which makes a part of an innovative shape-changing mechanism forthe controlled re-entry and safe recovery of CubeSat class satellites. The proposed mechanism is anumbrella-like conical system consisting of structural ribs and struts that are covered by a relatively thinand flexible TPS. The composite material consisting of a flexible silicone rubber reinforced by continuouscarbon fibers is a potential candidate for the TPS. From a technological point of view, silicone rubbersare known for their relatively high viscosity in a liquid state and low pot life. These properties decreasethe number of potential techniques for the reinforcement of silicone rubber with continuous ablative high-modulus fibers. The objective of the study is to determine if it is technically feasible to manufacture astructure consisting of carbon fiber-reinforced silicone rubber that meets the requirements of the flexibleTPS by the filament winding technique. During this technique, a delivery eye lays a tow impregnatedwith a resin along a geodesic or non-geodesic path on the surface of a rotating mandrel. The processcontinues until the whole surface becomes covered with a layer of uncured laminate. The curing processfollowed by the mandrel removal ends up with the composite structure, whose thermal and mechanicalbehavior depends on the trajectory of the impregnated tow besides its properties. Moreover, the processof filament winding is fully automated and thus provides a stable quality of the final structure. Most ofthe wound structures have a relatively simple axisymmetric shape defined by the shape of the mandrel.Thus, the method potentially could be implemented for the manufacturing of a TPS with a conical shape,however, a series of theoretical and experimental studies must be realized to prove the hypothesis. Themethodological approach of the study consists of the following sections, one for each area of technologicalconcern: a) analytical evaluation of the variety of feasible fiber trajectories for the given configurations ofthe TPS to determine the directions of the structural reinforcement, 2) computation of the machine pathfor the delivery eye to decrease the working envelope of a winder and to maintain constant tow feed-rate,3) winding of the TPS prototype to validate the machine path, to measure thickness distribution of thestructure and to reveal structural imperfections with use of optical microscopy
Assesment of the manufacturing feasibility of thr flexible TPS by filament winding / Andrianov, Artem; Vendittozzi, Cristian; Dimino, Ignazio; Silva, William. - 2024:(2024). (Intervento presentato al convegno 75th International Astronautical Congress, IAC24 Responsible Space for Sustainability tenutosi a Milan, Italy).
Assesment of the manufacturing feasibility of thr flexible TPS by filament winding
Cristian Vendittozzi;
2024
Abstract
The presented study relates to the technological aspects of the development and manufacturing of athermal protection system (TPS), which makes a part of an innovative shape-changing mechanism forthe controlled re-entry and safe recovery of CubeSat class satellites. The proposed mechanism is anumbrella-like conical system consisting of structural ribs and struts that are covered by a relatively thinand flexible TPS. The composite material consisting of a flexible silicone rubber reinforced by continuouscarbon fibers is a potential candidate for the TPS. From a technological point of view, silicone rubbersare known for their relatively high viscosity in a liquid state and low pot life. These properties decreasethe number of potential techniques for the reinforcement of silicone rubber with continuous ablative high-modulus fibers. The objective of the study is to determine if it is technically feasible to manufacture astructure consisting of carbon fiber-reinforced silicone rubber that meets the requirements of the flexibleTPS by the filament winding technique. During this technique, a delivery eye lays a tow impregnatedwith a resin along a geodesic or non-geodesic path on the surface of a rotating mandrel. The processcontinues until the whole surface becomes covered with a layer of uncured laminate. The curing processfollowed by the mandrel removal ends up with the composite structure, whose thermal and mechanicalbehavior depends on the trajectory of the impregnated tow besides its properties. Moreover, the processof filament winding is fully automated and thus provides a stable quality of the final structure. Most ofthe wound structures have a relatively simple axisymmetric shape defined by the shape of the mandrel.Thus, the method potentially could be implemented for the manufacturing of a TPS with a conical shape,however, a series of theoretical and experimental studies must be realized to prove the hypothesis. Themethodological approach of the study consists of the following sections, one for each area of technologicalconcern: a) analytical evaluation of the variety of feasible fiber trajectories for the given configurations ofthe TPS to determine the directions of the structural reinforcement, 2) computation of the machine pathfor the delivery eye to decrease the working envelope of a winder and to maintain constant tow feed-rate,3) winding of the TPS prototype to validate the machine path, to measure thickness distribution of thestructure and to reveal structural imperfections with use of optical microscopyI documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.