Materials for space structures

The material of anything that is destined for outer space is critical. It needs to be strong, it needs to be light and it needs to possess a range of vital physical characteristics. Researchers at Southampton are designing complex microstructures for a promising class of futuristic materials to fit the bill.

The use of lightweight multi-functional materials in structural applications has increased significantly in various domains of engineering – especially in space applications – in recent years.

Spacecraft, antennae, reconfigurable and deployable components, and sensor applications all benefit from these advanced engineered materials.

The increased demand has also propelled researchers from multi-disciplinary fields to come forward and contribute to different aspects of analysis, design, and manufacturing.

Dr Susmita Naskar, based at the University of Southampton’s Boldrewood Innovation Campus, leads the Engineered Materials and Structures Laboratory (EMSL). EMSL is focusing on functional material and structural systems where multiple materials and components are micro-architected to enhance the mechanical performances required for modern space systems.

Dr Naskar said: “The main objective of our work is to design and develop new advanced materials and structures for space applications. The EMSL group at Southampton works on the multi-physical mechanics of such advanced engineered material and structures, and further tests their strength, stiffness and flexibility through 3D printing, along with several static and dynamic experiments, to achieve the desired mechanical properties for complicated aerospace applications.”

Dr Naskar has recently investigated how multi-material micro-architected lattices affect the mechanical properties of metamaterials for multi-functional structural designs. This work was done in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur and Swansea University.

The results of this research are useful in expanding the scope of 3D printing metamaterials with desired mechanical properties along different directions.

SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING DESIGN SHOW 2022

A Group Design project from the EMSL group scooped the Environment Award at this year’s University of Southampton School of Engineering Design Show.

A team of five students – Thomas Doughty, William Oldman, Robert Oxford Pope, Ceris Brown and Nathan Marsh – investigated and designed an ultralight drag sail, based on an origami structure with the use of environmentally-friendly polymer films.

By deploying a sail at the end of a satellite’s life, a small amount of drag can be generated by the atmosphere present in Low Earth Orbit. This can therefore provide a functional scope in terms of time for the satellite to deorbit into the Earth’s atmosphere.

The students designed and built small-scale structural models to demonstrate the design concept through extensive computational simulations and several experimental tests at the University’s Testing and Structures Research Laboratory.

Robert Oxford Pope and William Oldman receiving the Environment Award from Professor David Richards, Head of the School of Engineering