Shakedown analysis of a reusable space capsule

Abstract

As the main component of the crewed spacecraft, the space capsule used for future space missions, especially for the deep-space explorations, must be safe, lightweight, and reusable at the same time. Conventional elastic limit-based design approach fails to meet with these requirements simultaneously. To investigate if elastic limit can be replaced by shakedown limit as a new criterion, in this paper, the shakedown limit of a space capsule of reduced size subjected to a time-varied inner pressure was numerically determined. The results are confronted to comparable studies and to own experimental results. This way, the study not only shows that the shakedown behavior of the space capsule exists and can be captured by the elaborated numerical and experimental procedure, but also reveals that the shakedown theory and methods can become viable means for designing similar lightweight structures used in the future reusable spacecraft.