Analysis and Design of Shape Memory Alloy Morphing Radiators

As the field of smart structures matures, increasingly complex morphing components are being considered. One example of such a component is a morphing radiator for spacecraft that incorporates shape memory alloys (SMAs) to affect shape and thus radiative efficiency. As will be shown, this device exhibits a high degree of coupling given the behavior of the shape memory alloy, the actuation-induced changes in geometry, and radiative heat transfer. The coupling between temperature and geometry as a result of SMA transformation is not unique to this problem, and several analysis tools are capable of simulating this type of coupling. However, previous works have not fully considered thermal radiation coupled with shape memory alloy actuation. This work presents and demonstrates a multiphysical finite element analysis (FEA) framework capable of simulating general problems of this type. The framework decomposes the coupled problem into several components, each of which simulates one aspect of the problem. The analysis tool is then used to explore the design of possible SMA-based morphing radiator configurations. In the future, it is expected that similar approaches will be used to design the next generation of morphing radiator components for a wide variety of applications.