Spacecraft Frame Stress Relief via Movable Dock Connectors
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Solution Overview
Problem
Spacecraft frames experience detrimental stresses during launch and in-orbit operations due to thermal fluctuations, vibrations, and payload movements, leading to misalignment and structural issues, with no known method to relieve or realign these stresses once in space.
Innovation Solution
A method using mechanical connectors capable of transitioning between hard and soft dock connections, controlled by a processor, to allow relative movement and realign the spacecraft frame, utilizing sensors to detect misalignment or stress and adjust the connection type to relieve stress and realign the frame.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If mechanical connectors are used to assemble spacecraft frames from multiple subsections, then ease of manufacture and assembly are improved, but misalignment and structural stress occur due to launch vibrations and thermal fluctuations
Solution Approach 1:
The mechanical connector is designed with a movable connector body that can transition between a first position (locked state) and a second position (unlocked state). This dynamic capability allows the connector to accommodate alignment changes caused by launch vibrations and thermal fluctuations while maintaining structural integrity. The movable design enables the system to adapt to varying conditions rather than requiring perfect static alignment.
Solution Approach 2:
The connector changes its structural parameters by moving between two distinct positions. In the first position, the connector body is constrained to provide rigid structural support. In the second position, the connector body becomes movable to allow realignment. This parameter change enables the system to switch between structural rigidity and alignment flexibility as needed.
2Strength
If solid body aluminum frames are used, then structural rigidity and weight reduction are improved, but residual internal stresses remain difficult to detect and relieve
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using a monolithic solid body frame, the spacecraft structure is divided into multiple frame subsections connected by mechanical connectors. This segmentation allows stress relief mechanisms to be introduced at the connection points between subsections, making residual stresses detectable and manageable while maintaining overall structural rigidity through the connected assembly.
3Stability of the object's composition
If frame subsections are connected with fixed mechanical connectors, then structural stability is improved, but realignment capability is lost when misalignment occurs in space
Solution Approach 1:
The mechanical connector incorporates a movable connector body that can dynamically switch between a constrained first position providing structural stability and an unlocked second position enabling realignment. This dynamic design resolves the contradiction by allowing the system to exhibit both stability and adaptability at different operational stages.
Solution Approach 2:
The movable connector body acts as an intermediary element between frame subsections. It provides a controlled interface that can transition between rigid connection (for stability) and movable connection (for realignment), mediating between the conflicting requirements of structural stability and realignment capability.
Data Source
AI summary
A method is provided for realigning or relieving mechanical stress in a spacecraft frame. The process includes providing a spacecraft which includes at least two frame subsections connected by a mechanical connector. The mechanical connector provides both a soft dock connection which mechanically connects the two frame subsections but allows relative movement between the two frame sections and a hard dock connection which mechanically connects the two frame subsections but does not allow relative movement between the two frame sections. Once in space, a controller causes the mechanical connector to transition from a hard dock connection to a soft dock connection, which is maintained for a predetermined time period to realign or relieve stress within the spacecraft frame. Thereafter, the controller causes the mechanical connector to transition from the soft dock connection back to the hard dock connection.