Conceptual Design of Flexible Thermal Protect Structure for Deployable Lunar Habitats

Abstract

Constructing lunar habitats is the first and the most important step to explore, exploit and colonize the outer space. A novel deployable lunar habitat concept is designed in the paper. The habitat structures consists of the spatial deployable truss and the flexible thermal protection laminated membrane. The structural design schemes were analyzed and compared. Nine topological schemes of the spatial deployable truss and seven designing schemes of the laminated membrane are presented. The optimal scheme was determined after strength analysis, stiffness analysis and steady thermal analysis were performed. Structural performances of the optimal design scheme for deployable lunar habitats were analyzed including static analysis, modal analysis and steady thermal analysis of three load cases. The analysis results indicates that structural performances and thermal protect performances of deployable lunar habitats are perfect. Then the technology support for scheme selection, structural design and TPS design was provided.

Keywords

deployable lunar habitats / deployable truss structures / FTPS / structural performance analysis