Viscoelastic struts for vibration mitigation of FORTE

Joseph R. Maly; Thomas A. Butler

doi:10.1117/12.239106

1 May 1996 Viscoelastic struts for vibration mitigation of FORTE

Joseph R. Maly, Thomas A. Butler

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 2720, Smart Structures and Materials 1996: Passive Damping and Isolation; (1996) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.239106
Event: 1996 Symposium on Smart Structures and Materials, 1996, San Diego, CA, United States

Abstract

FORTE is a small satellite being developed by Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and Sandia National Laboratories Albuquerque (SNLA). It will be placed into orbit via a Pegasus launch in 1996. Testing a full-scale engineering model of the structure using the proto- qualification, system-level vibration spectrum indicated that acceleration levels caused by structural resonances exceed component levels to which certain sensitive components had previously been qualified. Viscoelastic struts were designed to reduce response levels associated with these resonances by increasing the level of damping in key structural modes of the spacecraft. Four identical shear-lap struts were fabricated and installed between the two primary equipment decks. The struts were designed using a system finite element model (FEM) of the spacecraft, a component FEM of the strut, and measured viscoelastic properties. Direct complex stiffness testing was performed to characterize the frequency-dependent behavior of the struts, and these measured properties (shear modulus and loss factor) were used to represent the struts in the spacecraft model. System-level tests were repeated with the struts installed and the response power spectral densities at critical component locations were reduced by as much as 10 dB in the frequency range of interest.

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Joseph R. Maly and Thomas A. Butler "Viscoelastic struts for vibration mitigation of FORTE", Proc. SPIE 2720, Smart Structures and Materials 1996: Passive Damping and Isolation, (1 May 1996); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.239106

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