Multidisciplinary design optimization of a satellite structure by Additive Manufacturing

Fraunhofer EMI is currently designing a 12U nanosatellite. The mission is called ERNST (Experimental Spacecraft based on Nanosatellite Technology) and its main goal is to evaluate the utility of a nanosatellite mission for scientific and military purposes. As spacecraft developments demand the adaption of different subsystems for every mission, Fraunhofer EMI decided to use Additive Manufacturing (AM) in the construction of secondary satellite structures in order to achieve a highly adjusted structure which serves the exact required purpose of the mission. The significant advantage of using AM lies in the design freedom, with almost no design restrictions as compared to conventional manufacturing methods. On this basis, the design freedom can be used to implement a numerical optimization process, using Topology Optimization algorithms. During the optimization process, material is only placed at necessary areas. A Multidisciplinary Design Optimization for the optical mounting structure (optical bank) of the satellite was established, considering vibrational boundary conditions during the launch period and thermal boundary conditions during the operational phase. Based on this, the optimized design was additively manufactured by using Selective Laser Melting (SLM). The presented work correlates the simulated results concerning the vibration response with experiments carried out on a shaker. More precisely, the calculated eigenfrequencies and random-response will be evaluated using simulated and experimentally determined data.