Investigation of buckling behavior of carbon fiber-reinforced composite shell structures with openings

Abstract

One can find several structures prone to buckling, with openings, for space applications. The European launcher Ariane 5 is capable to put in orbit two satellites at the same time. To do that, the upper satellite is supported by a composite structure called SYLDA. Inside the SYLDA the second satellite is placed. The launcher deploys the first satellite, then release the SYLDA and finally deploys the smaller satellite. The SYLDA structure must support the entire payload from the upper satellite during launch, but also it is required to have some holes for inspection and connection of the smaller satellite inside. The influence of these cutouts should be considered for the structural analysis in order to predict the correct buckling load. Furthermore, another critical structure with openings is the Inter Stage Structure. The entire payload is supported by this structure during launching.