Mechanical Design and Analysis of Detector Head Assembly for Space bone High-Resolution Imaging Sensor

Abstract

The imaging sensors employed in satellites are subjected to a wide range of vibratory loads induced during the launching phase. The effect of temperature change also needs to be looked upon while designing the structure of the imaging sensor as satellite passes through the solar and lunar phase. This project work goes into depth of challenges incurred during launching and in-orbit operation. The research includes development of lightweight structure, incorporating flexure interface to house detector head assembly (DHA) components. The design of flexural mount is a novel approach that not only arrests the deformation of the imaging sensor but also restricts structural stresses to affect the performance of the imaging sensor. This article showcases the assessment of three different mechanical designs of DHA through finite element simulation results computed in ANSYS workbench environment. The survivability of DHA structure has been checked under 55g quasi-static loading to simulate launch vibration along with 10°C thermal gradient corresponded to the in-service orbital motion. In this research work, AL6061-T6 and Kovar has been chosen for various design components of the DHA as they are space qualified materials. Though both material options showed similar performance, due to low density, ready availability and cost effectiveness leads to select Al6061-T6 material for the fabrication of DHA components.