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Projecte llegit

Títol: The assessment of small-satellite optimal configuration using the numerical determination of its inertia tensor

Estudiants que han llegit aquest projecte:

Director/a: GIL PONS, PILAR

Departament: FIS

Títol: The assessment of small-satellite optimal configuration using the numerical determination of its inertia tensor

Data inici oferta: 03-02-2025     Data finalització oferta: 03-10-2025


Estudis d'assignació del projecte:
    MU AEROSPACE S&T 21
Tipus: Individual
 
Lloc de realització: EETAC
 
Segon director/a (UPC): GUTIÉRREZ CABELLO, JORDI
 
Paraules clau:
3D modeling, ADCS, Center of mass, CubeSat, Genetic algorithm, Inertia tensor, Matlab, PhotSat, Satellite design, SolidWorks, System integration
 
Descripció del contingut i pla d'activitats:
PhotSat is a 16U CubeSat currently being designed and constructed under the leadership of researchers from the Catalan Institute of Space Studies (IEEC). A team of UPC researchers and students is collaborating on designing its attitude determination and control subsystem (ADCS). This subsystem is crucial because PhotSat's goal is to obtain astronomical data that require very accurate pointing.
Proper attitude determination and control of the spacecraft require a precise knowledge of its inertia tensor. In this project, we aim to use SolidWorks software to test different design configurations of PhotSat. Our output (inertia tensor components) will later be processed to solve the spacecraft's control dynamics using the ADCS numerical simulator developed by our UPC team.
The stability of the pointing and the power demands on the reaction wheels for the different designs will be analysed and used to assess the optimal configuration of the PhotSat components.
In addition, we will obtain the resonance frequencies of each structure configuration. This information will be relevant for the jitter modelling of PhotSat.
 
Overview (resum en anglès):
This thesis presents an automated methodology for optimizing the internal configuration of CubeSats, applied specifically to the PhotSat mission-a 16U astrophysics CubeSat developed by the Institut d'Estudis Espacials de Catalunya (IEEC). The algorithm, implemented in Matlab, automates the placement of components within the satellite structure to enhance mechanical balance, attitude stability, and subsystem compatibility, while adhering to strict mission constraints.

The method begins by validating SolidWork's inertia tensor calculations using a simple geometry with its inertia tensor analytically computed. Then, all PhotSat components are modeled in 3D, and their geometric and inertial properties are extracted. A configuration generation algorithm creates thousands of random layouts within structural envelopes while enforcing volumetric and orientation component placement restrictions. Each valid configuration is then evaluated based on a multi-criteria evaluation sub-algorithm, including center of mass alignment, inertia tensor symmetry, electromagnetic interference and component accessibility. A genetic machine learning refinement step is applied to top-scoring layouts to further improve performance. The final optimal configurations are modeled and validated in SolidWorks.

The methodology is modular and scalable, making it adaptable to other CubeSat missions, with other satellite dimensions, mission-constraints or component placement restrictions. This work contributes an efficient algorithmic framework for early design decisions in satellite engineering, enhancing design precision while reducing manual iteration time.

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