© IMechE 2016.The main specification in the verification by testing of space hardware vulnerability to shock excitations is the shock response spectrum. Although it compiles the most relevant information needed to describe the overall shock environment characteristics, shock testing still poses various difficulties and uncertainties concerning the suitability and operation of the shock test system used, and the adequate definition of the underlying test parameters. The approach followed from the interpretation of typical shock testing specifications to the development, validation, and characterization of the developed shock test system, including the definition and design of the relevant parameters influencing the attained shock environment, is described in this paper. The shock testing method here presented consists of a pendular in-plane resonant mono-plate shock test apparatus where the structural response of the ringing plate depends upon well-defined controllable parameters (e.g. impact velocity, striker shape, mass, and contact stiffness), which are parametrically determined to achieve the target shock environment specification. The concept and analytical model of two impacting bodies are used in a preliminary analysis to perform a rigid body motion analysis and contact assessment. A detailed finite element model is developed for the definition of the ringing plate dimensions, analysis of the plate dynamics and virtual shock testing. The assembled experimental apparatus is described and a test campaign is undertaken in order to properly characterize and assess the design and test parameters of the system. The developed shock test apparatus and corresponding finite element model are experimentally verified and validated. As a result of this study, a reliable finite element modeling methodology available for future shock test simulation and prediction of the experimental results was created, being an important tool for the adjustment of the shock test input parameters for future works. The developed shock test system was well characterized and is readily available to be used for shock testing of space equipment with varying specifications....

© 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Weight measurements in a laboratorial environment are often affected by external factors from different origins, such as mechanical, thermal or electromagnetic effects. In this paper an innovative solution of a laboratorial weight measuring system somewhat circumventing these limitations is developed recurring to optical fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors embedded in a silicone rubber tray. As a result of the coupling between the FBG sensors and the low stiffness host material, the wavelength shift of the FBG sensors increases when the rubber tray is subjected to a transversal load. This paper reports the results obtained during the development and calibration of a prototype system for technology proof-of-concept....

© 2014 IMechE.This paper addresses the functional verification and performance assessment of an ultra-low shock non-explosive actuator appropriate to space applications of hold-down and release mechanisms. To demonstrate that the design implementation and manufacturing methods have resulted in an engineering model conforming to the set of functional, performance and environmental requirements specified, a space qualification test campaign is typically required. To ensure the readiness of the engineering model and the adequacy of the mechanical and electrical ground support equipment required for the entire qualification test campaign, a set of functional verification procedures and performance characterization tests were systematized and undertaken before the mechanism qualification. A preload monitoring system was developed and calibrated, and the performance of the mechanism was evaluated through the estimation of the release time and the measurement of the self-generated shock. The main results and conclusions taken from these tests are presented and discussed here....

In this work a flexible multibody dynamics formulation of complex models including elastic components made of composite materials is extended to include piezoelectric sensors and actuators. The only limitation for the deformation of a structural member is that they must remain elastic and linear when described in a coordinate frame fixed to a material point or region of its domain. The flexible finite-element model of each flexible body is obtained referring the flexible body nodal coordinates to the body fixed frame and using a diagonalized mass description of the inertia in the mass matrix and on the gyroscopic force vector. The modal superposition technique is used to reduce the number of generalized coordinates to a reasonable dimension for complex shaped structural models of flexible bodies. The active vibration control of the flexible multibody components is implemented using an asymmetric collocated piezoelectric sensor/actuator pair. An electromechanically coupled model is taken into account to properly consider the surface-bonded piezoelectric transducers and their effects on the time and spatial response of the flexible multibody components. The electromechanical effects are introduced in the flexible multibody equations of motion by the use of beam and plate/shell elements, developed to this purpose. A comparative study between the classical control strategies, constant gain and amplitude velocity feedback, and optimal control strategy, linear quadratic regulator (LQR), is performed in order to investigate their effectiveness to suppress vibrations in structures with piezoelectric sensing and actuating patches. © 2013 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht....

Modal control and spatial filtering technologies for vibration and/or structural acoustics radiation mitigation may be implemented through the use of distributed modal piezoelectric transducers with properly shaped electrodes which, in order to increase the robustness and stability of the controlled structural system, turn undesirable mode's contributions unobservable and uncontrollable over the bandwidth of interest. In addition, distributed modal piezoelectric transducers may also yield a higher generalized modal electromechanical coupling coefficient which is an important design parameter to take into account for a proper and efficient passive shunt damping design. The improvements in passive shunt damping performance when using modal piezoelectric transducers with shaped electrodes are investigated in this article for a two-layered resonant-shunted piezo-elastic smart beam structure. The damping performance of the shunted smart beam with shaped electrodes is investigated and assessed in terms of the generalized modal electromechanical coupling coefficients and frequency responses obtained when considering uniform and modally shaped electrodes, and the underlying improved performance and advantages are assessed and discussed....