Speaker
Description
PLACEHOLDER: Authors:
Puyu Shi, Nicholas H. Crisp, Katharine L. Smith, Ciara N. McGrath, Belen Lopez-Pardo and Andrey P. Jivkov at The University of Manchester
Andrew Gibson at ESR Technologies Limited
Thermal modelling is a critical aspect of satellite design, ensuring subsystem performance and overall mission success under the extreme conditions experienced in space. While industry-standard satellite thermal tools provide efficient solutions for common scenarios, these tools often have limitations including simplified thermal interfaces, restricted material libraries, and limited support for structural-thermal coupling. In contrast, general-purpose finite element analysis (FEA) tools, such as Abaqus, offer robust handling of nonlinear material behaviour, integrated thermo-mechanical coupling, and high-fidelity meshing and geometry handling. The availability of automation, scripting interfaces, and APIs also offers a high degree of customisation and integration with wider interdisciplinary simulation environments. However, the lack of native support for orbital thermal conditions requires external coupling to provide input of the radiative and orbital thermal environment.
This presentation describes an industry-academic collaboration focused on the integration of orbit propagation models with Abaqus FEA to provide a flexible thermal modelling workflow. Initial case studies have focused on assessing the performance of a novel thermal control shutter designed for nanosatellites. By enabling simultaneous variation of the thermo-optical properties of the device and time-varying boundary conditions from orbit data, our approach enables an exploration of the benefits for thermal control and overall system power. The developed workflow offers a flexible solution for integration with iterative design and optimisation whilst also showing promise for wider analysis of innovative thermal control methods, complex thermo-structural interactions, and missions across diverse space environments.
