ESA - Structures - Composite Technology Studies

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Antenna structures Composite Materials structures Fracture control / Damage tolerance Inflatable structures for space applications Meteoroid and debris shielding Structural verification of payloads and system hardware for human rated vehicles

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Composite Technology Studies

Various composite technology studies are followed by the Structures Section. An example is the development of multi functional enclosures for payload boxes. Concepts were investigated in which the electronic enclosures for space applications provide multifunctional properties for structural integrity, heat management, radiation and particle shielding and should be lightweight. With the selected CFRP fibres (K1100, M40J) most of these design requirements could be fulfilled – structural, thermal and lightweight.

The mass reduction for a demonstrator housing was about 60% compared to a usual housing made of aluminum. This reduction could be achieved due to lower density, higher stiffness and higher directional thermal conductivity of the CFRP material. A further advantage of the CFRP housings is that they could be easily integrated in a supporting CFRP structure without any serious CTE mismatch.

Last update: 31 July 2007

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Composite design and analysis tools Composite Joints and Inserts Launcher Structures Satellite Structures Stable Satellite Structures