MECHANICAL ANALYSIS OF ONBOARD EQUIPMENT AND THE ISSUE OF FINITE-ELEMENT MODEL ADEQUACY

Abstract

In this article we have considered issues related to the applied software package, designed to conduct onboard mechanical analysis of spacecraft equipment using FEM, together with an algorithm that simplifies the aforementioned models and estimates their correctness.

Full Text

The design of a complicated high-tech product, which includes space onboard equipment, is based on the currently used analysis methods. This allows building complicated structures and analyzing them thoroughly. Today these methods are successfully used is computers and modern CAE systems (Computer-Aided Engineering – engineering analysis systems). By applying this method, difficulties during the design and the strength analysis could be resolved, by bringing design models much closer to the existing structures. The Finite Element Method (FEM) is one of the most universal methods of mechanical analysis, which is performed for different structures. It is, in fact, a variation method used to calculate detailed irregular models. Its capabilities of constructing overall systems, which can calculate all structural parts without separating the elements of the structure, give this method more advantages. The design of onboard equipment is characterized by the tendency of its design model improvements; this can be explained in two ways: – in some cases it is possible to significantly reduce the mass of the onboard equipment, owing to more a detailed analyses of voltage and the distorted construction; – this analysis is often the only method to estimate structure behavior in space conditions and on the way to space after onboard equipment simulation; ground operations in most cases are extremely limited. Nevertheless, together with a number of beneficial characteristics FEM also has some disadvantages. The continuous progress in computational technologies stipulates the building of more detailed models, in the size of which there could be approximately 105 equation members. It is easier to perform a dynamic analysis of a reduced model while calculating the detailed models; this is still restricted in terms of the obtained results validity. To eliminate such difficulties, the created applied programs packages are used to perform mechanical analysis, including analysis of the reduced models.