Chapter 66: Satellite in Orbit

66 Satellite in Orbit


Summary 1221

Introduction 1222

Modeling Details 1222

Solution Highlights 1225

Results 1231

Modeling Tips 1232

Input File(s) 1233
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Satellite in Orbit

Summary
Title Chapter 66: Satellite in Orbit
Features: Enclosure Radiation, Orbital Heating and Radiation Exchange Factors, Multiple Orbits
and Pointing, MLI and Coating, Satellite with moving parts (articulating solar panels)
Geometry & Boundary Space ambient temperature = -273.15 °C (default value)
Conditions

ALU606: K = 167 W/m/°C, Cp = 940 J/Kg/°C, ρ = 2700 Kg/m³

Material properties
Honeycomb: K = 11.5 W/m/°C, Cp = 945 J/Kg/°C, ρ = 50 Kg/m³, Several coatings
Analysis characteristics Solution 400 / RC Network solver. Steady and transient thermal analysis.
Applied Loads Enclosure Radiation Face, Radiation Enclosure
Element type CQUAD4, CTRIA3
FE results
1222 MD Demonstration Problems
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Introduction
This problem demonstrates the orbital space application of SOL 400 RC Network Solver and Thermica v3.

Modeling Details
2m 1m

0.5 m
1m Y

Y
gaps: 0.1 m PANELS
Material : HONEYCOMB
Sun face : SOLARCELL
Anti -Sun face : BLACKPAINT
YOKE
Cylinders: Material : ALU6061
diam = 0.02 m 1m Coating : MLI
1.75 m
1m
1m 2m BODY FACES
Material : ALU6061
ANTENNA Inner coating : BLACKPAINT
Parabola: Material : HONEYCOMB Outer coating : MLI
diam=1.5 m System Emitting face : WHITEPAINT
height = 0.25 m reference frame Rear side: MLI
origin

1.25 m
2m
2.5 m

Figure 66-1 Satellite Geometry and Materials

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Satellite in Orbit

Case 1: Single Round Orbit, Single Pointing, and Solar Panels

Articulation
Orbital Description: Pointing Description:
Reference line: Sun -Z toward Earth
Altitude: 1000 km +X along velocity vector
Inclination: 60° Moving Parts:
Solar time of ascending node: 16:00 Solar panels pointing to the Sun
Epoch: Spring 2000 1 axis of rotation

Figure 66-2 Satellite Orbit and Pointing for Case1

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Case 2: Multiple Orbital Arcs with Multiple Pointing, Solar Panels
Articulation
Orbital Arc #1: Sun Pointing
Orbital Description:
Reference line: Sun
Altitude: 1000 km
Inclination: 60 deg
Solar time of ascending node: 16h
Epoch: Spring 2000
Duration: 170 deg
Orbital Arc #2: Sun to Earth
Orbital Description:
Reference line: Sun
Altitude: 1000 km
Inclination: 60 deg
Solar time of ascending node: 16h
True anomaly: 170 deg
True anomaly step: 1 deg
Duration: 10 deg
Orbital Arc #3: Earth Pointing
Orbital Description:
Reference line: Sun
Apogee: 3000 km
Perigee: 1000 km
Inclination: 60 deg
Solar time of ascending node: 16h
Argument of perigee: 180 deg
True anomaly: 0 deg
Duration: 180 deg
Figure 66-3 Satellite Orbit and Pointing for Case1
Pointing Description:
-Z toward Sun
+Y toward North Pole
Moving Parts:
Solar panels pointing to the
Sun
Pointing Description:
-Z toward Sun
+Y toward North Pole
dYaw/dt = 0.25 deg/s
dPitch/dt = 0.30 deg/s
dRoll/dt = 0.26 deg/s
Moving Parts:
Solar panels pointing to the Sun
1 axis of rotation
Pointing Description:
-Z toward Earth
+X along Velocity vector
Moving Parts:
Solar panels pointing to the Sun
1 axis of rotation
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Satellite in Orbit

Solution Highlights
RC Network Solver uses VIEWEX entry to simulate the enclosure radiation loads. RADC entry is used to represent the
MLI or Coating materials.

RADSET 6
RADCAV 6 448 YES 0 FD
SPOINT 696
TEMP 37 696 -273.15
SPC 6 696 1 -273.15
RADM 7 1.
PHBDY 5 1.
CHBDYP 448 5 POINT 696
7 1. 0.0 0.0
VIEWEX 6 F AREA T T
THERMIC 1380. 0.3 -19. F F 5000 5000
99. 3600. 1.E-8
A black, unit area point element CHBDYP is used to define the radiation ambient temperature for a radiation
enclosure. This point element is referenced by RADCAV entry to link to the enclosure. The point is defined as a
SPOINT and SPC is used to define its temperature value. VIEWEX entry links with a radiation enclosure by the
ICAVITY ID, and define the external radiation solvers and some related control parameters. The orbital and pointing
parameters are not defined inside the bdf file. They are defined in the GUI of the external radiation solvers (such as
Thermica v3). The following shows the RADC cards which are used to define the coating and MLI materials for
radiation loads.
RADC 6 0.82 0.74 +
+ COAT Solar_ce
RADC 5 0.78 0.52 +
+ MLI 0.02
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VIEWEX Advanced RC Radiation Solver Parameters

Defines the radiation solver and correlating solver parameters for radiation calculations in RC heat transfer.

Note: You must have a copy of the external radiation code to use it.

Format NEVADA
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
VIEWEX ICAVITY Run RADK Disto Orbital Re-use +
Interactively Method existing
results
“NEVADA” RENO Reflection Restart RENO Ray VEGAS Ray Energy Confidence GRID +
count count Cutoff closure
+ GRID iterations Time Scale RADK cutoff

Format TSS
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
VIEWEX ICAVITY Run RADK Disto Orbital Re-use +
Interactively Method existing
results
+ “TSS” +

Format THERMICA
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
VIEWEX ICAVITY Run RADK Disto Orbital Re-use +
Interactively Method existing
results
+ “THERMIC” Solar FLux Planet Planet Restart Suppress VF Radiation Orbital +
Albedo BlackBody Articulation ray count flux ray
count
+ Confidence Time Scale RADK cutoff

Format TRASYS
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
VIEWEX ICAVITY Run RADK Disto Orbital Re-use +
Interactively Method existing
results
+ “TRASYS” Axi Radial mesh Axi Axial Axi Angular Time RADK cutoff +
mesh mesh scale

Format SRR
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
VIEWEX ICAVITY Run RADK Disto Orbital Re-use +
Interactively Method existing
results
+ “SRR” Gebhart Solver Convergence Max Iter Fij Fij Filter Fij Fij +
Tol smoothing cutoff Smoothing Smooth
method Tol Iter
+ Bij smoothing method Bij Filter cutoff Bij Smoothing Bij Max Iter
Tol
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Format SRQ
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
VIEWEX ICAVITY Run RADK Disto Orbital Re-use +
Interactively Method existing
results
+ “SRQ” Flux Solver Convergence Max Iter Fij Fij Filter Fij Fij +
Tol smoothing cutoff Smoothing Smooth
method Tol Iter

Field Contents Type Default

ICAVITY Cavity identification number. I0 Required
Run Interactively Run the radiation code interactively. C, FULL
“FULL”,
“T”, or “F”
Do not currently have batch mode for Thermica or
TSS.
Do not have interactive mode for TRASYS.
RADK Distro Method How to redistribute RADK onto elements. C, FULL
“FULL”,
“AREA”,
or
“DIRECT”
Orbital Use orbital analysis for radiation. Not supported in C, “T”, or “F”
SindaRad. “F”
Re-use existing Re-use previous radiation results. C, “T”, or “F”
results “F”
“NEVADA” Identification that NEVADA will be used. C
RENO Reflection Use reflection method of ray tracing for RADK. C, “T”, or “F”
“F”
Restart Use Restart option. C, “T”, or “F”
“F”
Reno Ray count Number of rays cast for Reno module I>0 5000
Vegas Ray count Number of rays cast for Vegas module I>0 5000
Energy Cutoff Energy cutoff level. I -3
Confidence Confidence Level percentage R > 0.0 99.0
GRID closure GRID closure tolerance. R > 0.0 0.001
GRID iterations Maximum GRID iterations I>0 300
Time Scale Orbital time scale factor, number of time units in an R > 0.0 1.0
hour (e.g., If using seconds, value would be 3600.0.).
RADK cutoff RADK filter smallest element. R > 0.0 1.0e-8
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Field Contents Type Default

“TSS” Identification that TSS will be used. C
“THERMICA” Identification that THERMICA will be used. C
Solar Flux Quantity of solar flux. R > 0.0 1380.0
W/m2
Planet Albedo Planetary Albedo. R -19,
assumes
Earth
orbit
Planet BlackBody Planet Blackbody. R -10.0,
assumes
Earth
orbit
Suppress VF Suppress view factor articulation. C, “T”, or “F”
Articulation “F”
Radiation ray count Number of rays cast for radiation calculation. I>0 5000
Orbital flux ray count Number or rays cast for radiation calculation. I>0 5000
“TRASYS” Identification that TRASYS will be used. C
Axi Radial mesh Axisymmetric element mesh in radial direction. I>0 1
Axi Axial mesh Axisymmetric element mesh in axial direction. I>0 1
AXI Angular mesh Axisymmetric element mesh in angular direction. I>0 5
“SRR” Identification that the SindaRad. RADK method will C
be used
Gebhart Solver Which RADK solver to use. “GS” or “FGS”
“FGS”
Convergence Tol Tolerance for convergence of RADK calculation. R > 0.0 1.0e-5
Max Iter Maximum allowable iterations to converge. I>0 50
Fij smoothing method How to filter view factors. C, “CROP” “CROP”
or “HIGH”
Fij Filter cutoff Parameter for filter. R > 0.0 1.0e-8
Fij Smoothing Tol Tolerance for smoothing. R 1.0e-4
Fij Smoothing Iter Maximum allowable iterations to smoothing. I>0 50
Bij smoothing method How to filter conductors C, “CROP” “CROP”
or “HIGH”
Bij Filter cutoff Parameter for filter. R > 0.0 1.0e-8
Bij Smoothing Tol Tolerance for smoothing. R 1.0e-4
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Field Contents Type Default

Bij Max Iter Maximum allowable iterations to smoothing. I>0 50
“SRQ” Identification that the SindaRad QRad method will be C
used.
Flux Solver Which QRad solver to use. C, “GS” or “GS”
“CG”
Convergence Tol Tolerance for convergence of QRad calculation. R > 0.0 1.0e-5

Remarks
1. This entry is for RC Network solver only. EX means external radiation solvers.
2. Each entry type is designed for one specific radiation solver, except the very last two types, which are for
SINDARad’s two options:
NEVADA
TSS
THERMICA
TRASYS
SINDARad RADK method
SINDARad Q method
3. About more details about the parameters in the entry, please reference SINDA for Patran User’s Guide and
SINDARad User’s Guide.
1230 MD Demonstration Problems
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RADC Thermal Radiative Coating Properties

Defines the radiative properties of advanced materials such as coatings and multilayer insulation, commonly used in
the aerospace market.

Format COAT
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
RADC RADMID Emis Absorptivity IR Spec UV Spec +
+ “COAT” IR IR Transluc UV Transpa UV IR Refrac UV Refrac
Transpa Transluc Ind Ind

Format MLI
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
RADC RADMID Emis Absorptivity IR Spec UV Spec +
+ “MLI” Estar

Field Contents Type Default

RADMID Radiation material identification number. I0 Required
“COAT” Identification that a coating type material has been started. C 0
Emis Emissivity. R  0.0 1.0
Absorptivity Absorptivity. R  0.0 1.0
IR Spec IR Specularity. 0.0 < R  1.0 0.0
UV Spec UV Specularity. 0.0 < R  1.0 0.0
IR Transpa IR Transparency. 0.0 < R  1.0 0.0
IR Transluc IR Translucency. 0.0 < R  1.0 0.0
UV Transpa UV Transparency. 0.0 < R  1.0 0.0
UV Transluc UV Translucency 0.0 < R  1.0 0.0
IR Refrac Ind IR Refraction Index. R  1.0 1.0
UV Refrac Ind UV Refraction Index. R  1.0 1.0
MLI Identification that an MLI type material has been started. C
Estar MLI E-star parameter. R 0.0

Remarks
1. This entry is for RC Network solver only.
2. Estar is defined as the effective emissivity from the wall to MLI outer surface. The general value is around 0.01
to 0.03, the typical value is 0.02.
3. Emis is usually for the IR waveband, and Absorptivity is for the UV waveband.
 CHAPTER 66 1231
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Results

Figure 66-4 Temperature Contour of Satellite for Case 1 (Steady State)

Figure 66-5 Temperature Contour of Satellite for Case 2 (Steady State)

1232 MD Demonstration Problems
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Case1 (orbital period = 6307.1 sec.) Case2 (orbital period = 6595.5 sec.)
Figure 66-6 Temperature vs. Time on Solar Panels (Transient)

The steady state results are used as the initial conditions. They are actually the average temperatures over the whole
orbital period. The orbits in both cases have eclipses with the Earth shadow; therefore the steady state temperatures
are lower than the temperatures in the Sun shine period. That is why the curves have a sudden jump up at the beginning.
The lower temperature at the middle curves shows the eclipse effects on the solar panels. The green curves show the
shading effect caused by the satellite body and antenna. In case 2, during the first orbital arc period, the satellite body
and antenna point vertically to the Sun, along with the solar panels, so no shading effect at all, and the temperatures
are certainly much higher. During the third orbital arc period, the satellite body and antenna point to the Earth, while
the solar panels point to the Sun, the shading effect occurs at certain orbital locations. The temperatures are relatively
lower because the satellite orbit is much higher. The top points (inflexion) of the curves shows the locations where the
solar panels point to the Sun best, while the satellite body and antenna point to the Earth.

Modeling Tips
The parabolic primitive surface is not available in SimXpert V2010 for now, so we use a sphere surface instead. MD
Nastran can support the parabolic surface. If you want to use the parabolic surface, you will need to do some extra
work to manually modify the BDF file. The yokes which support the solar panels are deliberately ignored to simplify
the thermal models.
For transient analysis cases, the time scale factor in the radiation enclosure form is very important. If you use second
as the time unit for orbital period in Thermica, the time scale factor should be 3600.0.
 CHAPTER 66 1233
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Input File(s)
Files Description
QT13_satellite.dat MD Nastran SOL400/RC Network Solver thermal input file
QT14_sat_tran.dat MD Nastran SOL400/RC Network Solver thermal input file
QT39_sat_3arcs.dat MD Nastran SOL400/RC Network Solver thermal input file
QT40_sat_tran_3arcs.dat MD Nastran SOL400/RC Network Solver thermal input file
QT13_14_satellite.TRJINP Thermica v3 orbit input file for case 1
QT13_14_satellite.PNTINP Thermica v3 pointing input file for case 1
QT39_40_sat_3arcs.TRJINP Thermica v3 orbit input file for case 2
QT39_40_sat_3arcs.PNTINP Thermica v3 pointing input file for case 2