Smart Solar Panel Project: Design of Compliant Supports to Operate on Mars

The Smart Solar Panel project has the goal of developing solar panels for space applications having selfcleaning and sun-tracking capabilities, as these characteristics would allow a higher efficiency energy production, with subsequently increased potentialities for future space missions at a reduced cost. In the framework of this project, supports are required to interface the solar panel with its holding structure. To this end, in this work, the thermomechanical design of such supports is carried out. These supports should allow the panel to freely contract and expand under thermal variations expected in space environments, while showing sufficient mechanical resistance and dynamic behaviour to resist a launch and, potentially, landing on celestial bodies other than Earth. Initially, materials, general geometry and positioning of the supports on the panel are selected. Then, their optimal geometrical design is defined, making use of a parametric numerical model and carrying out a set of sensitivity analyses observing the influence of the various geometrical parameters on the thermomechanical stresses and dynamic behaviour of the assembly. The determination of optimal geometrical dimensions is then finalized by an iterative approach, eventually assessing the mechanical resistance of all the parts constituting the SSP assembly.