Design and Characterization of a Small-Scale Solar Sail Prototype by Integrating NiTi SMA and Carbon Fibre Composite

Design and Characterization of a Small-Scale Solar Sail Prototype by Integrating NiTi SMA and Carbon Fibre Composite

Blog Article

Solar sails are propellantless systems where the propulsive force is given by the momentum exchange of reflecting photons.In this study, a self-deploying system based on NiTi shape memory wires and sheets has been designed and manufactured.A small-scale prototype of solar sail with carbon fibre loom has been developed.Different configurations have been tested to optimize material and structure design of the small-scale solar sail.In particular read more the attention has been focused on the surface/weight ratio and the deployment of the solar sail.

By reducing weight and enlarging the surface, it is possible to obtain high values of characteristic acceleration that is one of the main parameters for a successful use of the solar sail as propulsion system.Thanks to the use of shape memory alloys for self-actuation mel axolotl of the system, complexity of the structure itself decreases.Moreover, sail deployment is simpler.