Abstracts Book - IMRC 2018

• SE2-O007
THERMAL AND MECHANICAL NUMERICAL ANALYSIS OF THE
PRIMARY COMPOSITE STRUCTURE OF A CUBESAT
Mauricio Torres 1 , Saul Piedra 1 , Saul Ledesma 1 , Aaron Burgos 1 , Miguel Vergara 1
1 Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo Industrial (CIDESI), CENTA, Mexico.
The presented study is focus on the stress and thermal analysis of composite
structure of a CubeSat prototype. In the design of any structural system for a
space mission, a balance between mass, stiffness and strength to space
environmental conditions must be performed. Several CubeSat missions have
successfully launched and place in orbit, the primary choices for most of the
structures of such nanosatellites are aluminum alloys Al 6061 or Al 7075
increasing the mass of the main structure of the nanosatellite. Composites
represent a very promising materials for this kind of space applications. In the
present study a proposal for manufacture structural components in composite
materials for a CubeSat prototype is discussed. Carbon fiber reinforced epoxy
material is used in order to satisfy the requirements given for the International
Standards for nanosatellite applications. The first step on the project was
proposing a ply sequence and material configuration for the main panels of the
CubeSat. Once the material configuration was chosen, the evaluation of the
material configuration and the structure were performed through a thermal and
mechanical analysis using a finite element model implemented in ANSYS
software. Simulations were carried out for the different load scenarios to which
the CubeSat will be subjected in the launching process and the operation
condition at the orbit. A static structural analysis was carried out to validate the
behavior of the structure of the CubeSat during the launching, the load
distribution for this study was calculated based on the effect of extra g-force
experimented by the CubeSat at such conditions. A modal analysis was
performed in order to determine the natural frequencies of the structure, the
results of this analysis was used to characterize the dynamic behavior of the
structure and its response under dynamic loads. Also, the thermal effects are
added to the analyzed mission in order to represent more accurately the load
and environmental conditions for the CubeSat during its life cycle. Interesting
structural results due to the temperature operation conditions were found and
validate the feasibility of using this composite panels with specific resins within
the nanosatellite structure.
Acknowledgment: