On Topology Optimisation Methods and Additive Manufacture for Satellite Structures: A Review

Abstract

Launching satellites into the Earth’s orbit is a critical area of research, and very demanding satellite services increase exponentially as modern society takes shape. At the same time, the costs of developing and launching satellite missions with shorter development times increase the requirements of novel approaches in the several engineering areas required to build, test, launch, and operate satellites in the Earth’s orbit, as well as in orbits around other celestial bodies. One area with the potential to save launching costs is that of the structural integrity of satellites, particularly in the launching phase where the largest vibrations due to the rocket motion and subsequent stresses could impact the survival ability of the satellite. To address this problem, two important areas of engineering join together to provide novel, complete, and competitive solutions: topology optimisation methods and additive manufacturing. On one side, topology optimisation methods are mathematical methods that allow iteratively optimising structures (usually by decreasing mass) while improving some structural properties depending on the application (load capacity, for instance), through the maximisation or minimisation of a uni- or multi-objective function and multiple types of algorithms. This area has been widely active in general for the last 30 years and has two main core types of algorithms: continuum methods that modify continuous parameters such as density, and discrete methods that work by adding and deleting material elements in a meshing context. On the other side, additive manufacturing techniques are more recent manufacturing processes aimed at revolutionising manufacturing and supply chains. The main exponents of additive manufacturing are Selective Laser Melting (SLM) (3D printing) as well as Electron Beam Melting (EBM). Recent trends show that topology-optimised structures built with novel materials through additive manufacturing processes may provide cheaper state-of-the-art structures that are fully optimised to better perform in the outer-space environment, particularly as part of the structure subsystem of novel satellite systems. This work aims to present an extended review of the main methods of structural topology optimisation as well as additive manufacture in the aerospace field, with a particular focus on satellite structures, which may set the arena for the development of future satellite structures in the next five to ten years.