Satellite Thermal Analysis Research Articles

Models, simulations, and applications of small satellite thermal analysis

Progress in satellite technology places higher expectations on the design period and reliability of thermal control systems, especially for small satellites with high intensification. Here, a thermal analysis is conducted throughout the satellite development process, with thermal modeling serving as the foundation for thermal analysis in the early and formal design and test verification stages. As a result, designers are required to appreciate, penetrate, and properly apply thermal models for the development of satellite thermal systems. Thus, in this article, we reviewed the research and development of thermal model techniques, as well as the preparation of crucial parameters and means of simplification for accurate and fast solutions. In addition, a summary of the relevant application and state-of-the-art technologies such as uncertainty and sensitivity analysis, intelligent optimization design, and parameter correlation, was dedicated to promoting the comprehensive development and innovation of thermal analysis of satellites.

Efficient Correlation Method for Satellite Thermal Analysis Model Using Multiple Linear Regression and Optimization Algorithms

Efficient Correlation Method for Satellite Thermal Analysis Model Using Multiple Linear Regression and Optimization Algorithms

Thermal Modelling of a Remote Sensing Satellite Panel in an Inclined Orbit

Satellites consist of different subsystems; one of them is the thermal control subsystem (TCS), which warranties the specified temperature settings of other subsystems and devices through satellite lifetime. Satellite Thermal modelling is performed by solving thermal budget equation, taking into consideration maximum and minimum external fluxes, and heat rejection from internal devices which fixed on the internal surface of the panel. To reach the optimum design for the thermal control of the panel (radiation surface areas and power of the electric heaters), the thermal analysis results should meet the design requirements, and the temperature ranges of each device or subsystem inside the satellite. Multilayer Insulation (MLI) is one of the most important passive elements of thermal control subsystem covered the satellite as a blanket consists of some layers from thin pressed Mylar or Kapton sheets. MLI is important to minimize the heat exchange between the inside (devices heat dissipation), and outside satellite (external heat fluxes). A parametric investigation is presented for an inclined satellite in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at 650 km altitude, to study MLI covering area effect on panel thermal control design. Satellite thermal analysis is performed by Thermal desktop/SINDA FLUINT Software by decreasing and increasing MLI on the outer surfaces of the satellite, to ensure that the satellite electrical equipment temperatures maintained in the required ranges for normal operation.

Anisotropy of thermal conductivity in 3D printed polymer matrix composites for space based cube satellites

Polymer extrusion three dimensional (3D) printing, such as fused deposition modeling (FDM), has recently garnered attention due to its inherent process flexibility and rapid prototyping capability. Specifically, the addition of electrical components and interconnects into a 3D printing build sequence has received heavy interest for space applications. However, the addition of these components, along with the thermal load associated with space-based applications, may prove problematic for typical thermally insulating 3D printed polymer structures. The work presented here addresses thermally conductive polymer matrix composites (specifically, graphite, carbon fiber, and silver in an acrylonitrile butadiene styrene polymer matrix) to identify the effect of composite geometry and print direction on thermal anisotropic properties. The work also examines the effect of these composites on print quality, mechanical tensile properties, fracture plane analysis, micrograph imaging, and cube satellite thermal analysis. The thermal conductivity of 3D printed material systems in this work may enable the production of thermally stable 3D printed structures, supports, and devices. Key results of this work include anisotropic thermal conductivity for 3D printed structures related to print direction and filler morphology meaning that thermal conductivity can be controlled through a combination of print raster direction and material design. When the materials analyzed in this work are incorporated with other active cooling systems, space-based 3D printed applications can then be designed to incorporate increasing thermal loads, opening a new door to producing space-ready 3D printed structures.

인공위성 열해석을 위한 복사형상계수 계산기법의 병렬화 및 성능향상 기법 연구

Parallelism and performance enhancement of calculating view factors in KSDS developed by KARI is introduced in this paper. View factor is an essential parameters of radiation thermal analysis for a spacecraft, and the amount of computation of them is not negligible. Especially, independent integration of view factors at each position of the orbit because the relative displace between solar panel and main body of a satellite varies with the position on the orbit. This paper introduces a range of parallelism of computing view factor and their performance, detection of obstructions by spatial search algorithm based on KD-Tree, and the reduction of the calculation of view factors of a satellite with relative motion between solar panel and main body, called updating fractional view factor matrix, for satellite thermal analysis.

열해석 모델 간략화 및 동적특성에 관한 연구

A detailed satellite panel thermal model composed of more than thousands nodes can not be directly integrated into a spacecraft thermal model due to its node size and the limitation of commercial satellite thermal analysis programs. For the integration of the panel into the satellite thermal model, a reduced thermal model having proper accuracy is required. A thermal model reduction method was developed and validated by using a geostationary satellite panel. The temperature differences of main components between the detailed and the reduced thermal model were less than <TEX>$1^{\circ}C$</TEX> in steady state analysis. Also, the dynamic responses of the detailed and the reduced thermal model show very similar trends. Thus, the developed reduction method can be applicable to actual satellite thermal design and analysis with resonable accuracy and convenience.

Overview of Satellite Thermal Analytical Model

Thermal analysis is the major engineering work throughout the entire satellite development process, with some crucial stages such as design, test, and ground operations simulation. In the formal design and verification (by test) phases, a general thermal mathematical model for the entire satellite is constructed from a combined conduction and radiation heat transfer equation with environmental heating and cooling as boundary conditions. Some representative numerical schemes with constraints used in satellite thermal analysis, as well as an introduction to the thermal model for the thermal balance test, are presented. However, the general thermal model may be too complicated or inefficient for conceptual design, test monitoring, and ground-operation simulation while developing a satellite. Therefore, simpler governing equations for pure radiation heating and cooling with exact mathematical solutions are developed to fulfill this objective at the expense of analysis accuracy. The linear approximation and exact formulation for solving this simplified problem, as well as the corresponding results shown in graphical form, are also discussed.