Novel vibration absorbers for space payload

Abstract

The vibration transmitted to the payload of a rocket vehicle during liftoff is large in magnitude and broad in frequency. Delicate parts of a satellite like solar panels, lenses, and other equipment carried to perform specific missions can easily be damaged during liftoff. Passive damping systems are currently used to isolate the delicate payload from vibration. However, energy can be dissipated in a narrow frequency band using a Subordinate Oscillator Array (SOA). The SOA is an array of cantilever beams of different size and mass that are attached on a primary resonant structure. The subordinate beams are substantially smaller than the primary structure. This arrangement allows energy transmitted to the primary structure to be dissipated down scale through the vibration of the array of smaller structures. In this study, an SOA is designed to isolate one face of a CubeSat (a cubic satellite of dimensions 10 × 10 × 10 cm) from the broadband vibrations transmitted during the launch of its rocket carrier. Simulation using COMSOL Multiphysics is used to analyze and quantify the effectiveness of this absorber. These numerical results are compared to scanning laser Doppler vibrometry measurements of prototype SOAs affixed to a plate designed to mimic the CubeSat face.The vibration transmitted to the payload of a rocket vehicle during liftoff is large in magnitude and broad in frequency. Delicate parts of a satellite like solar panels, lenses, and other equipment carried to perform specific missions can easily be damaged during liftoff. Passive damping systems are currently used to isolate the delicate payload from vibration. However, energy can be dissipated in a narrow frequency band using a Subordinate Oscillator Array (SOA). The SOA is an array of cantilever beams of different size and mass that are attached on a primary resonant structure. The subordinate beams are substantially smaller than the primary structure. This arrangement allows energy transmitted to the primary structure to be dissipated down scale through the vibration of the array of smaller structures. In this study, an SOA is designed to isolate one face of a CubeSat (a cubic satellite of dimensions 10 × 10 × 10 cm) from the broadband vibrations transmitted during the launch of its rocket carrier. Si...