A Study on Control Methods for Thermally Induced Disturbances of Large Space Structures

Thermally induced structural disturbances are known to affect the altitude dynamics and pointing performance of satellites during eclipse transitions. In this study the thermally induced disturbances of spacecraft structures and accessories are analyzed by Finite Element Method based on dynamics and heat-transfer theory. Passive control methods of thermally induced disturbances presently include the optimization of surface solar absorptivity, material thermal conductivity and elasticity in order to make the Boley non-dimensional parameter be far from 1. The methods are reliable, convenient and low-cost, and they have demonstrated their applicability in numerical simulations. The study will be significant to analyze a large space structure design.