IMPACT DYNAMICS STUDY OF SOFT CONE BASED ON SPACE PROBE-CONE DOCKING MECHANISM

Abstract

In this paper, a soft cone composed of the thin-walled plates as a buffer system based on space probe-cone docking mechanism for the medium and small-sized spacecraft in the process of docking is presented. The theoretical model of docking impact dynamics is derived according to Lagrange Analytical Mechanics theory and Hertz contact theory. Runge-Kutta numerical method is used to solve this theoretical model. Results of the theoretical model show a good agreement with the experimental and ANSYS/LS-DYNA simulation results. In addition, the influence of soft cone parameters on impact process is discussed based on theoretical model systemically. It is shown that the soft cone can help to greatly reduce the maximal impact force and absorb lots of impact energy through deformation in the linear elastic range. Keywords   ,, ,