Recently, the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology (SAST) of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) sent a letter of appreciation to YSU, thanking the team of Professor Quan Lingxiao of our university for their contributions to the construction of the China’s Space Station.
Professor Quan from the School of Mechanical Engineering and the SAST jointly carried out the evaluation of the dynamics, life and reliability of the mechanical components of the docking/transposition mechanism. Based on the good earlier cooperation, the team and the SAST have reached a new cooperation agreement to establish a digital twin of the mechanical components of the docking/transposition mechanism, which supports the digitalization of the China’s Space Station, and supports the failure prediction and O&M of the mechanical components of the docking/transposition mechanism through predicting the key performance of the docking/transposition mechanism in the entire life cycle by using the digital platform.
In December 2018, Professor Quan and his team began to formally undertake the evaluation task. They carried out a lot of work and understood the material performance of key components via experiments, constructed a long-life prediction mathematical model, and carried out fatigue dynamic load simulation analysis and testing, all of which supported the design of docking/transposition mechanism in a timely and accurate manner.
The Tianhe core module of the China’s space station blasts off from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in Hainan
Team members watch the live broadcast
The team conducts academic discussion
(The above photos are provided by the School of Mechanical Engineering)
The docking/transposition mechanism of the space station is responsible for the docking, locking, transposition, and separation among cabins and between the cabins and the spacecraft. The mechanical components of the docking/transposition mechanism are a key integral part of the space station. After the component design is completed, it is very important to evaluate the dynamic performance and sealing performance of the entire mechanical components in the connected state, because the degradation of performances, including creepage and relaxation, of some key parts and components after long-term service may affect many important service performances.
