Research on lightweight composites of stent for spacecrafts

Stent is a very important part of spacecraft final assembly, which is founded by metal with heavy mass and low success. High dimension stability of stent is required urgently within intricate space environment. In order to improve the structural stiffness and abate the mass, a representative stent was selected to perform lightweight research. Based on the performance parameters of carbon fiber composite and boundary conditions, the finite element model was established and simulation analysis was performed firstly. Then the manufacture technology of composite stent was created and a composite stent was achieved. Finally, the testing scheme was made. The mechanical property comparison with metal and carbon fiber composite stent was worked out by evaluating the response of sine and random vibration. The result indicates that carbon fiber composite stent behaves better mechanical performance with lighter mass.