Corrugated Payload Adaptor Structure for Spacecraft
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing payload structures in spacecraft face challenges in providing both strength and lightweight design to maximize lift capacity while effectively managing varying stresses and vibrations during launch, particularly due to differences in top and bottom diameters and off-axis accelerations.
Innovation Solution
A corrugated payload structure with a frustoconical shape made from fiber-reinforced composite laminate material, featuring varying corrugation amplitudes and periods, which provides stiffness and optimizes structural stability by reducing weight and eliminating the need for additional stabilizing components like honeycomb cores.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Weight of moving object
If a traditional smooth-walled payload structure is used, then the structure is simpler to manufacture, but the structure requires additional stabilizing components (honeycomb cores) and has higher weight
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies corrugated shell structures to the payload adaptor, using the corrugations themselves to provide structural stability instead of requiring additional honeycomb cores. The corrugated geometry creates inherent stiffness and stability in thin-walled composite structures, eliminating the need for separate stabilizing components while reducing overall weight.
Solution Approach 2:
The payload adaptor uses fiber-reinforced composite laminate materials in conjunction with corrugated geometry. This combination leverages the high strength-to-weight ratio of composites while the corrugated shape provides structural stability, achieving weight reduction without sacrificing structural integrity or requiring additional stabilizing elements.
2Weight of moving object
If a corrugated structure is used to reduce weight, then the lift capacity is maximized, but the manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the structural stability function and the weight reduction function into a single integrated corrugated shell structure. The corrugations are formed directly as part of the payload adaptor shell during manufacturing, merging what would traditionally be separate components (smooth shell + honeycomb cores) into one unified structure, thereby reducing overall complexity despite the corrugated geometry.
3Stability of the object's composition
If the payload structure needs to handle varying stresses and vibrations during launch, then the structural stability must be enhanced, but the weight increases
Solution Approach 1:
The corrugated shell structure provides enhanced structural stability through its geometric configuration. The corrugations create inherent stiffness and resistance to deformation under varying stresses and vibrations during launch, while the thin-walled composite construction maintains low weight. This eliminates the need for heavy additional stabilizing components.
Solution Approach 2:
The corrugated geometry introduces controlled curvatures and undulations to the shell structure. These curved features enhance structural stability by distributing stresses more effectively throughout the structure during dynamic launch conditions, while the overall thin-walled design prevents significant weight increase.
Data Source
AI summary
A spacecraft. The spacecraft includes a rocket engine; a first stage connected to the rocket engine; and a payload stage connected to the first stage. The spacecraft also includes a payload structure inside the payload stage between a first compartment of the payload stage and a second compartment of the payload stage. The payload structure may be a single shell that has a corrugated shape such that an inside surface and an outside surface of the payload structure vary in shape to form the corrugations.