Design and Development of Damping SandwichPanels for Satellite Housing Using AdditiveManufacturing

Abstract

The present work investigates the performance of additively-manufactured sandwich structures with the goal of reducing the effect of vibrations on a spacecraft during launch, whilst minimizing mass. Additive manufacturing allows designers to implement custom and complex geometries, such as the sheet gyroid structures, inside sandwich panels. Accordingly, this work details the development of gyroid-based sandwich structures for damping. Several test specimens are designed, additively manufactured using ABS plastic, and their damping performances are evaluated based on both simulation and experiments. Damping values are identified using frequency response transfer functions. The results show that as theory predicts, adding more mass, through the added thickness of the gyroid reduces the amplitude of vibrations. However, on a damping-per-unit-mass basis, the experimental results are inconclusive mainly due to the measurements of vibrations in the center of the sandwich panels instead of the sides where the vibrations can be maximum. Therefore, simulations better illustrate the changes of the damping behavior at different applied frequencies. Lessons and experiences are summarized for future work, particularly in exploring the effects of varying other 3D printed composite meta-lattice sandwich structures for satellites. QC 20230220</p