[F&S, Chapter 8]

Function: the Spacecrafts skeleton.

Prinipal design driver: minimise mass without
compromising reliability.
Design aspects:

Materials selection
Configuration design
Analysis
Verification testing (iterative process).

Generalised requirements

Must accommodate payload and spacecraft

systems
Mounting requirements etc.

Strength

Must support itself and its payload through all phases of

the mission.

Stiffness (related to strength)

Oscillation/resonance frequency of structures (e.g.

booms, robotic arms, solar panels).
Often more important than strength!

Environmental protection
Radiation shielding (e.g., electromagnetic, particle)
for both electronics and humans.
Incidental or dedicated

Spacecraft alignment
Pointing accuracy
Rigidity and temperature stability
Critical for missions like Kepler!

Thermal and electrical paths

Material conductivity (thermal and electrical)
Regulate heat retention/loss along conduction
pathways (must not get too hot/cold).
Spacecraft charging and its grounding philosophy

Accessibility
Maintain freedom of access (docking etc.)

For OPTIMUM design require careful materials

selection!

Materials selection

Specific strength is defined as the yield

strength divided by density.
Relates the strength of a material to its mass (lead
has a very low specific strength, titanium a high
specific strength).

Stiffness (deformation vs. load)

Stress corrosion resistance
Stress corrosion cracking (SCC).

Fracture and fatigue resistance

Materials contain microcracks (unavoidable)
Crack propagation can lead to total failure of a
structure.
Extensive examination and non-destructive testing
to determine that no cracks exists above a specified
(and thus safe) length.
Use alternative load paths so that no one structure
is a single point failure and load is spread across
the structure.

Thermal parameters

Thermal and electrical conductivity

Thermal expansion/contraction (materials may
experience extremes of temperature).

Sublimation, outgassing and erosion of materials

(see previous lecture notes).
Ease of manufacture and modification
Material homogeneity (particularly composites - are
their properties uniform throughout?).
Machineability (brittleness - ceramics difficult to work
with)
Toxicity (beryllium metal).

Elements (refractories)

Symbol

Melting Pt. (K)

Boiling Pt. (K)

Density (kg m-3)

Carbon (diamond)

3820

5100 (s)

3513

Tungsten

3680

5930

19300

Rhenium

Re

3453

5900

21020

Osmium

Os

3327

5300

22590

Tantalum

Ta

3269

5698

16654

Molybdenum

Mo

2890

4885

10200

Niobium

Nb

2741

5015

8570

Iridium

Ir

2683

4403

22420

Ruthenium

Ru

2583

4173

12370

Boron

2573

3931

2340

Hafnium

Hf

2503

5470

13310

Technicium

T*

2445

5150

11500

Rhodium

Rh

2239

4000

12410

Vanadium

2160

3650

6110

Chromium

Cr

2130

2945

7190

Zirconium

Zr

2125

4650

6506

Protactinium

Pa

2113

4300

15370

Platinum

Pt

2045

4100

21450

Materials:

Stainless steel used (where possible) to

1200K
Refractory elements and alloys used to 1860K
Refractory elements formed into borides,
carbides, nitrides, oxides, silicides (e.g.,
boron carbide, tungsten carbide, boron
nitride).

Spacecraft structure design requires a very

careful selection of materials based upon
their strength, thermal properties, electrical
properties, strength, stiffness, toxicity and
shielding ability.
The overriding concern is weight! Weight =
cost and need to minimise WITHOUT
sacrificing functionality. Careful design and
construction needed.

Most spacecraft materials are based on

conventional aerospace structural materials
(similar weight/strength requirements).
Some new hi-tech materials are employed
where necessary (honeycombs, beryllium
alloys etc.) not found elsewhere.

Aluminium (and its alloys)

=2698 kg m-3, melting point=933.5 K

Most commonly used conventional material (used

for hydrazine and nitrous oxide propellant
tanks).
Low density, good specific strength
Weldeable, easily workable (can be extruded,
cast, machined etc).
Cheap and widely available
Doesnt have a high absolute strength and has a
low melting point (933 K).

Magnesium (and its alloys)

=1738 kg m-3, melting point=922 K

Higher stiffness, good specific strength

Less workable than aluminium.
Is chemically active and requires a surface
coating (thus making is more expensive to
produce).

Titanium (and alloys)

=4540 kg m-3, melting point=1933 K

Light weight with high specific strength

Stiff than aluminium (but not as stiff as steel)
Corrosion resistant
High temperature capability
Are more brittle (less ductile) than
aluminium/steel.
Lower availability, less workable than aluminium
(6 times more expensive than stainless steel).
Used for pressure tanks, fuels tanks, high speed
vehicle skins.

Ferrous alloys (particularly stainless steel)

=7874 kg m-3, melting point (Fe)=1808 K
Have high strength
High rigidity and hardness
Corrosion resistant
High temperature resistance (1200K)
Cheap
Many applications in spacecraft despite high
density (screws, bolts are all mostly steel).

Austenitic steels (high temperature formation)

Non-magnetic.
No brittle transition temperature.
Weldable, easily machined.
Cheap and widely available.
Susceptible to hydrogen embrittlement
(hydrogen adsorbed into the lattice make the
alloy brittle).
Used in propulsion and cryogenic systems.

Beryllium (BeCu)
=1848 kg m-3, melting point=1551 K

Stiffest naturally occurring material (beryllium

metal doesnt occur naturally but its compounds
do).
Low density, high specific strength
High temperature tolerance
Expensive and difficult to work
Toxic (corrosive to tissue and carcinogenic)
Low atomic number and transparent to X-rays
Pure metal has been used to make rocket
nozzles.

Other alloys
Inconel (An alloy of Ni and Co)
High temperature applications such as heat shields
and rocket nozzles.
High density (>steel, 8200 km m-3).

Aluminium-lithium
Similar strength to aluminium but several percent
lighter.

Titanium-aluminide
Brittle, but lightweight and high temperature
resistant.

Refractory metals:

Main metals are W, Ta, Mo, Nb.

Generally high density.
Tend to be brittle/less ductile than aluminium
and steel.
Specialised uses.

Composite materials (fibre reinforced)

Glass fibre reinforced plastics (GFRP)
fibreglass.
Earliest composite material and still most common.
Glass fibres bonded in a matrix of epoxy resin or a
polymer.
Very lightweight
Can be moulded into complex shapes
Can tailor the strength and stiffness via material
choice, fibre density and orientation and composite
laminar structures.

Carbon and boron reinforced plastics

High strength and stiffness

Excellent thermal properties
Low expansivity
High temperature stability

Used for load bearing structures

E.g. spacecraft struts
Titanium end fittings.

Carbon-carbon composites
Carbon fibres in a carbon matrix

Excellent thermal resistance

Very lightweight
Little structural strength
Uses confined to extreme heating environments
with minimal load bearing e.g. nose cap and
leading wing edges of the space shuttle.
Hygroscopic absorption upto 2% by weight

Subsequent outgassing of water vapour can lead to

distortion of material. So have to prevent absorptions,
or allow for expansion/contraction.

Metal-matrix composites:
Metals can overcome limits of epoxy resin
(GFRP etc have to be stuck together, or
bonded inside a resin).
E.g. aluminium matrix containing boron,
carbon or silicon-carbide fibres.
Problem: the molten aluminium can react
with fibres (e.g. graphite) and coatings.
Boron stiffened aluminium used as a tubular
truss structure.

Films, fabrics and plastics

Mylar
Most commonly used plastic
Strong transparent polymer
Can be formed into long sheets from 1m thick and
upwards
Can be coated with a few angstroms of aluminium
to make thermally reflective thermal blankets

Films, fabrics and plastics (continued)

Kapton
Polyimide (e.g. Vespel)
High strength and temperature resistance (also
used for thermal blankets)
Low outgassing
Susceptible (like most polymers) to atomic oxygen
erosion and is thus coated with metal film (normally
gold or aluminium) or teflon.

Films, fabrics and plastics (continued)

Teflon (PTFE polytetraflouroethylene) and

polyethylene
Smooth and inert
Good specific strength
Can be used as bearings, rub rings etc. without the
need for lubricants (which can freeze and outgas).

Honeycomb sections

Low weight, high stiffness panels (from

aerospace aircraft flooring).
Various combinations of materials can be
used.
Outgassing and thermal stability can be
problematic and must be considered (the
honeycomb is glued together).

Honeycomb sections (continued)

Design generally customised for individual

cases

Calculate required stiffness

Select skin and core thickness combinations (thick
skin for load bearing)
Select core section for maximum shear stress
requirement
Load attachment points can be a problem as forces
must be spread across the skin. Good for load
spreading, not localised loads.

Honeycomb schematic

Connecting honeycomb using

a L-bracket to spread the load

Summary
The basics of spacecraft structures
Balancing the requirements of the spacecraft
against material selection
A brief overview of some of the materials used in
spacecraft engineering
Advantages and disadvantages of each
A spacecraft designer must consider all these
against the cost (i.e. weight) of the spacecraft
without compromising safety or mission
requirements.