A Footpad Structure with Reusable Energy Absorption Capability for Deep Space Exploration Lander:Design and Analysis  

作　　者：Weiyuan Dou Xiaohang Qiu Zhiwei Xiong Yanzhao Guo Lele Zhang 

机构地区：[1]School of Mechanical,Electronic and Control Engineering,Beijing Jiaotong University,Beijing 100044,China [2]National International Science and Technology Cooperation Base on Railway Vehicle Operation Engineering,Beijing Jiaotong University,Beijing 100044,China [3]China Academy of Space Technology,Beijing 100094,China

出　　处：《Chinese Journal of Mechanical Engineering》2023年第4期257-270,共14页中国机械工程学报（英文版）

基　　金：Supported by Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities of China(Grant No.2021JBM021);National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.52202431,52172353).

摘　　要：The footpad structure of a deep space exploration lander is a critical system that makes the initial contact with the ground,and thereby plays a crucial role in determining the stability and energy absorption characteristics during the impact process.The conventional footpad is typically designed with an aluminum honeycomb structure that dissipates energy through plastic deformation.Nevertheless,its effectiveness in providing cushioning and energy absorption becomes significantly compromised when the structure is crushed,rendering it unusable for reusable landers in the future.This study presents a methodology for designing and evaluating structural energy absorption systems incorporating recoverable strain constraints of shape memory alloys(SMA).The topological configuration of the energy absorbing structure is derived using an equivalent static load method(ESL),and three lightweight footpad designs featuring honeycomb-like Ni-Ti shape memory alloys structures and having variable stiffness skins are proposed.To verify the accuracy of the numerical modelling,a honeycomb-like structure subjected to compression load is modeled and then compared with experimental results.Moreover,the influence of the configurations and thickness distribution of the proposed structures on their energy absorption performance is comprehensively evaluated using finite element simulations.The results demonstrate that the proposed design approach effectively regulates the strain threshold to maintain the SMA within the constraint of maximum recoverable strain,resulting in a structural energy absorption capacity of 362 J/kg with a crushing force efficiency greater than 63%.

关 键 词：Deep space exploration lander Footpad Shape memory alloy(SMA) Reusable energy absorption structure Design method 

分 类 号：TG40[金属学及工艺—焊接] TB114.3[理学—概率论与数理统计] V447.1[理学—数学]