Design of micro-vibration isolation system for a remote-sensing satellite payload using viscoelastic materials

Abstract

When a satellite is in orbit, micro vibration generated by its actuators (such as reaction wheels, deployable mechanisms, etc.) will affect the imaging quality of the camera. Viscoelastic materials are utilized as passive isolators to reduce these micro vibrations due to their simple construction and excellent energy dissipation capacity, A finite element model of the entire satellite as well as the camera is constructed using the ABAQUS software and then four reaction wheels are included as the sources of micro-vibrations and their forces are added to the model. To isolate these vibrations, four square sorbothane pads are designed and added in the finite element model as viscoelastic dampers located under the camera, between the camera and satellite bus. The generalized Maxwell model is employed to describe the dynamic properties of the viscoelastic elements in the ABAQUS software. Finally, by analyzing and comparing the dynamic responses of the system with and without the viscoelastic sorbothane pads, it is realized that this isolation system can effectively reduce the reaction wheel micro-vibrations on the camera and subsequently increase the image quality.