CubeSats usually adopt aluminum alloys for primary structures, and a number of studies exist on Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic (CFRP) primary structures. The internal volume of a spacecraft is usually occupied by battery arrays, reducing the volume available to the payload. In this paper, a CFRP structural/battery array configuration has been designed in order to integrate the electrical power system with the spacecraft bus primary structure. The configuration has been designed according to the modular design philosophy introduced in the AraMiS project. The structure fits on an external face of a 1U CubeSat. Its external side houses two solar cells and the opposite side houses power system circuitry. An innovative cellular structure concept has been adopted and a set of commercial LiPo batteries has been embedded between two CFRP panels and spaced out with CFRP ribs. Compatibility with launch mechanical loads and vibrations has been shown with a finite element analysis. The results suggest that, even with a low degree of structural integration applied to a composite structural battery, more volume and mass can be made available for the payload, with respect to traditional, functionally separated structures employing aluminum alloy. The low degree of integration is introduced to allow the use of relatively cheap and commercial-off-the-shelf components.
CubeSats primary structures are usually made with aluminium alloys, with few examples of CFRP primary structures under study. Power system battery arrays usually occupy spacecraft internal volume and mass that should be available to the payload. A CFRP structural/battery array configuration has been designed, allowing to integrate the electrical power system in the bus primary structure. Its configuration has been developed with the modular design philosophy of the AraMiS CubeSat. It is sized as a tile, mounted on an external face of the 1U CubeSat. It accommodates two solar cells, while the opposite face accommodates power system circuitry. Following a cellular structure concept, a set of commercial LiPo batteries has been placed between two CFRP panels and spaced out with CFRP ribs. Compliance with launch mechanical loads has been evaluated with a finite element analysis. A preliminary thermal analysis has been performed to simulate a LEO orbit environment. The results indicate that even with a low degree of structural integration, more volume and mass can be allocated to the payload, with respect to traditional, functionally separated designs in aluminium alloy. The low degree of integration allows to employ relatively cheap, commercial off-the-shelf components.
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