CEV Crew Module Structural Optimization
- Paper number
IAC-06-C2.4.01
- Author
Mr. Glenn A. Hrinda, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), United States
- Year
2006
- Abstract
NASA initiated a 90-day "Smart Buyer" design effort of the Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) program that provided an internal assessment of the current CEV design and formulated an independent design. The effort involved engineering teams performing trade and design studies starting with the current CEV project design to arrive at an innovative in-house concept. The "Smart Buyer" design was to be used in evaluating future contractor proposals as well as assessing NASA's own in-house design and analysis capabilities. One of the many architecture components analyzed in the CEV was the Crew Module (CM). The CM was base lined as an enlarged Apollo type capsule that required structural sizing and optimization to reduce launch mass. A unique approach to sizing the CM structure was to use a commercial software tool called "Hypersizer" that coupled with a nastran finite element model (fem). Hypersizer software allowed many materials and structural concepts such as laminates, honeycombs, stiffened panels and isogrids to quickly be optimized for CM load cases. The sizing technique proved useful by answering "what if" questions during the fast paced design study. The CM skins and structure for the heatshield, backshell and launch abort system (LAS) were optimized after iterating for lowest mass and minimum structural geometry. Traditional finite element analysis (fea) modeling techniques were not necessary such as detailed meshing of uniaxial stiffened panels, isogrid waffle patterns or hat/trusscore stiffened panels. Numerous industry margin checks are performed within Hypersizer that could not normally be accomplished during the aggressive study cycle. The unique analysis approach provided composite aerospace materials and shapes to be quickly analyzed and sized to arrive at an optimal CM structure.
- Abstract document