Lightweight Design for Active Small SAR S-STEP Satellite Using Multilayered High-Damping Carbon Fiber-Reinforced Plastic Patch

Abstract

In the launch environment, satellites are subjected to severe dynamic loads. These dynamic loads in the launch environment can lead to the malfunction of the payload, or to mission failure. In order to improve the structural stability of satellites and enable the reliable execution of space missions, it is necessary to have a reinforcement structure that reduces structural vibrations. However, for active small SAR satellites, the mass requirements are very strict, and this makes it difficult to apply an additional structure for vibration reduction. Therefore, we have developed a carbon fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP)-based laminated patch to obtain a vibration reduction structure with a lightweight design for improving the structural stability of an S-STEP satellite. To verify the vibration reduction performance of the CFRP-based patch, sine and random vibration tests were conducted at the specimen level. Finally, the structural stability of the S-STEP satellite with the proposed CFRP-based laminated patch was experimentally verified using sine and random vibration tests. The validation results indicate that the CFRP-based laminated patch is an efficient solution which can effectively reduce the vibration response without the need for major changes to the design of the satellite structure. The lightweight vibration reduction mechanism developed in this study is one of the best solutions for protecting vibration-sensitive components.

Keywords

• synthetic aperture radar (SAR)
• Small SAR Technology Experimental Project (S-STEP)
• carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP)
• CFRP-based patch