Design Analysis and Experimental Validation of Modular Handling System for Satellite Ground Application

Abstract

Assembly Integration and Testing (AIT) of spacecraft involves a large number of handling operations which are carried out with the help of spacecraft handling system, it is one of the major hardware in Mechanical Ground Support Equipments (MGSEs). The conventional type of handling system consists of mild steel beam section and required many operations like drilling and welding for final hardware realization. Over the conventional handling system, a novel Modular Handling System (MHS) using aluminum extruded complex cross-section profiles with high strength-to-weight ratio is presented. The 1D beam FEA of these profiles gives only approximate results like maximum stress and deformations, so to analyze the assemblies for detailed stress distribution we need to adapt 3D/2D meshing but 3D meshing is complex for these cross sections and requires more solver time. Therefore, an approximation approach is adopted by using 2D shell element meshing over 1D element by maintaining moment of inertia to that of original profile of each cross section, and validated under the cantilever beam with point load condition of FEA results and compared with the analytical calculations. With confidence of these results the present work aimed to analyze MHS by using 2D mesh and perform linear static FEA to determine stresses and deflection. Further, MHS hardware is fabricated, assembled, and realized for experimental validation using strain gages with static loading test facility, and results are compared with finite element simulation results and found close match. The experimental validated MHS hardware successfully utilized for lifting the spacecraft’s sub-assembly/assembly during AIT activity. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.