SPACECRAFT STRUCTURES AND MECHANISMS - 2020/1

Module Overview

Expected prior learning: Knowledge equivalent to BEng degree in Electronic/Electrical Engineering or Mechanical/Aerospace Engineering




Module purpose:  The spacecraft structure is the physical platform that supports and integrates subsystems and payload. As such, it is of fundamental importance for any spacecraft. Through a series of lectures, exercises and coursework, this module gives the students an understanding of the issues that have to be addressed in the design and analysis of spacecraft structures and mechanism.

In addition, to illustrate the industrial perspective of this subject, there will be two guest lectures, one delivered by an expert of Spacecraft Structures from the European Space Agency and the other by a chief mechanical engineer at SSTL.





 

Module provider

Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Module Leader

CIAMPA Francesco (Mech Eng Sci)

Number of Credits: 15

ECTS Credits: 7.5

Framework: FHEQ Level 7

Module cap (Maximum number of students): N/A

Module Availability

Semester 2

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

None.

Module content

Indicative content includes the following.

• Overview of the module


• Launch Environment
  Sources of mechanical excitation during spacecraft Launch.
  Satellite’s mechanical environment, quasi static loads, random vibrations, acoustic loads, shocks
  Structural design requirements and specifications


• Vibration response – single and multi-degree of freedom systems, natural frequencies, structural transfer functions, shock response spectrum.


• Typical structural component
  Honeycomb panels / inserts / bolted and bonded joints etc…


• Typical spacecraft structural layouts


• Secondary structures, definition and examples


• Typical spacecraft mechanisms
  Release mechanisms, deployable structures (booms, antennas, arrays), various actuators and examples e.g. Reaction Wheels


• Microvibrations sources and impact on other subsystems


• Overview of structural analysis techniques for spacecraft structures
  FEM, SEA


• Manufacturing, brief overview of typical techniques


• Materials,
  Overview of  materials typically used in spacecraft structures: Aluminium Alloys and other metals alloys, composites (CFRP, GFRP and metal matrix).


• Structural verification / testing.
  Qualification program. Dynamic and static tests. Correlation FE – test results. Vibration levels for equipment units.


• Guest Lectures: European Space Agency & SSTL

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

Not applicable: students failing a unit of assessment resit the assessment in its original format.

Assessment Strategy

The assessment strategy for this module is designed to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate knowledge and application of the module content as described above.

Thus, the summative assessment for this module consists of the following.

• 2-hour, closed-book written examination. This will contain a selection of questions designed to assess the breadth and depth of knowledge that the students have gained by studying the module. The examination also verifies the assimilation of appropriate terminology, and the capability to apply specific structural design methodologies.   

• During lectures, by question and answer sessions.


• During tutorials/tutorial classes, students are given exercises which they try to solve independentely and then the whole class goes through the solution discussing any issue that the students find with the specific exercise.  


• By means of unassessed tutorial problem sheets (with answers/model solutions), similar to homework, and the studetns are given the solutions at a later date.


• During meetings with the lecturer, as the class is relatively small, at the end of the lectures the lecturer is available for one-to one Q&A with the students to clarify any doubt they may have concerning the material that was presented during the lectures.

Module aims

• provide an overview of the issues that need to be addressed in the design of spacecraft structures and mechanisms.
• provide students with an appreciation and understanding of the development of the whole spacecraft structural design process.
• provide the student with the ability to apply this knowledge to practical applications.

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The learning and teaching strategy is designed to achieve the following aims.

• To provide the students with an overview of the issues that need to be addressed in the design of spacecraft structures and mechanisms., giving them an appreciation and understanding of the development of the whole spacecraft structural design process


• To provide the student knowledge and skills which are relevant for a future employment in industry or other institutions.

• Teaching is by lectures and tutorials. Learning takes place through lectures, tutorials, and exercises. Some of the example problems come from real industrial applications


• The students are invited to participate to the lectures raising questions, and at the end of the lectures the lecturer is available for one-to one Q&A with the students to clarify any doubt they may have concerning the material that was presented during the lectures.


• 3 hours of lectures/tutorials per week for 11 weeks.

Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.

Reading list

https://readinglists.surrey.ac.uk
Upon accessing the reading list, please search for the module using the module code: EEEM049

Programmes this module appears in

Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2020/1 academic year.