Mathematical model for ED-20 rigidization with a rigidizer TEAT-1

Abstract

Nanosatillites are space vehicles with the weight of 1 – 10 kgs which typically fly at low earth orbits. They are easy to use and relatively cheap (both the vehicles themselves and the costs of their orbital injection). These flying vehicles are accessible for many users and can solve a variety of technological and scientific tasks. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology developed the so called inflatable antenna of a nanosatillite with a communication range being 7 times longer than that of antennae of the modern nanosatillites.  However, this construction requires the mechanisms to manually feed the gas into the inflatable elements of antennae, additional gas containers or containers with chemical elements to generate gas. The paper proposes another solution to the problem, that is, to improve an inflatable design of the antennae by manufacturing it from prepreg and its rigidization in the open space. This technology gives higher wrapping coefficient during transportation, gives an opportunity to transmit stronger signals to the Earth. In fact, it is more reasonable to hot-rigidize prepreg. Computing experiments require the appropriate equations for the process. The paper describes a mathematical model for prepreg rigidization on the basis of a promising reaction mixture consisting of epoxy resin ED-20 and a rigidizer ТEАТ-1. The model accounts for the changes in concentrations of reaction mixture molecule fragments during rigidization. The paper moves to the description of physical and mathematical features of reaction mixture.