Abstract
Abstract Venus and the Ocean Worlds are emerging areas of interest for space exploration, as they can potentially host, or have hosted, conditions compatible with life. Landers and probes for in-situ exploration, however, must deal with very high external pressure, due to the environmental conditions, often resulting in thick and heavy structures. Robust, reinforced shell structures can provide a lightweight solution for the primary structure. In this frame, the isogrid layout is already a standard in aerospace, especially for flat panels or cylindrical shells. In this paper, isogrid-stiffened hemispherical shells, or “geodesic domes”, are described, focusing on the case of a concept of a Venus lander. Early design methods for both plain and geodesic domes subjected to external pressure are presented, providing design equations. Additive Manufacturing is identified as the key technology for fabricating metallic geodesic domes, due to the complexity of the internal features. Moreover, it allows to fabricate ports and integrated thermostructural systems in the same process, potentially resulting in improved performance or cost and schedule savings.
Highlights
In the last decades, new discoveries in planetary science have turn the spotlight on a series of planets and moons, characterized by internal oceans and potentially hosting life, such as Europa or Enceladus
They are usually composed by a metal or wooden framework covered by polymeric, glass or plywood panels
In the case of geodesic domes for robotic space probes, the fabrication issues related to the complex internal ribbing can be addressed by using Additive Manufacturing (AM) technologies
Summary
New discoveries in planetary science have turn the spotlight on a series of planets and moons, characterized by internal oceans and potentially hosting life, such as Europa or Enceladus. Mission concepts are Article note: Paper included in the Special Issue entitled: Shell and Spatial Structures: Between New Developments and Historical Aspects Both the Ocean Worlds and Venus are characterized by harsh environmental conditions, such as very high external pressure, extreme temperature and corrosive environment. Difficult and expensive to fabricate with traditional manufacturing techniques, could help in increasing the bending stiffness of the shell, resulting in significant mass savings. In this frame, plates and shells stiffened with ribs forming a triangular pattern are commonly referred as "isogrids". Spherical isogrid shells are quite rare in aerospace, but are very common in architecture, as geodesic domes They are usually composed by a metal or wooden framework covered by polymeric, glass or plywood panels.
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