Design and Analysis of Active Speed-Limit Mechanism for Large-Scale Spatial Solar Array

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

·         Review Report for

Design and Analysis of Active Speed-limit Mechanism for Large-scale Spacial Solar Array

 

 

·         The work is described which was performed on the design, analysis and performance of a 20 kW rollup solar array capable of meeting the design requirements of a solar electric spacecraft. To meet the high power requirements of the proposed electric propulsion mission, here are:

·         A comprehensive design of the active speed-limit driving mechanism is performed. The drive mode of brushless DC motor+spur gear reduction+torque limiter+planetary reduc- tion+harmonic reduction is adopted to solve the impact of the locking impact of the large solar array on the satellite or the SADA or driving mechanism.

 

·         In the section 3, the design of an adaptive torque limiter suitable for the active speed-limit driving mechanism to solve the possibility that excessive load can damage the active speed-limit driving mechanism during solar array deployment. The spur gear reducer and steel-ball torque limiter in the transmission mechanism were integrated to reduce the volume of the mechanism and simplify the design;

 

·         Compared with a viscous damper, the active speed-limit driving mechanism can reduce the deployment time by 26%; the locking angular speed is reduced by 68%; the maximum impact bending moment to SADA is reduced by 41%. The active speed-limit driving mechanism designed in this study can significantly reduce the deployment impact load and increase the deployment reliability.

 

·         So far the Items covered include solar array requirements and constraints, array concept selection and rationale, structural and electrical design considerations, and reliability considerations. The overall manuscript is well executed and written.

 

·         Authors should cite more relevant references in the introduction section.

 

·         This research work is suitable for the publication after typos fixed.

 

·         I strongly recommend for the publication in this journal of Coatings.

 

Regards,

Ravi Kumar Cheedarala,

Changwon National University,

[email protected]

S. Korea

 

Comments for author File: Comments.pdf

Author Response

1.  Authors should cite more relevant references in the introduction section.

Two more relevant references have been added to the introduction section. Please refer to the introduction for details.

 

2. This research work is suitable for the publication after typos fixed.

Typos have been checked carefully and revised.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 2 Report

In this paper, authors developed an active speed-limit mechanism which could be suitable for special solar arrays. The design is well described and is based on the active speed-limit mechanism and passive drive, but the novelty of the proposed structure is not so well evidenced. Please clearly evidenced in the abstract what is the novelty of the paper? How the proposed design is different by the other mechanisms? In summary, the manuscript is well structured, the discussions and results are valuable, and the conclusion section is very detailed. Please check the figures resolution, high quality images should be provided. I recommend the manuscript publication in Coating Journal after minor revisions.

Author Response

1. In this paper, authors developed an active speed-limit mechanism which could be suitable for special solar arrays. The design is well described and is based on the active speed-limit mechanism and passive drive, but the novelty of the proposed structure is not so well evidenced. Please clearly evidenced in the abstract what is the novelty of the paper? How the proposed design is different by the other mechanisms?

The novelty of the article has been added to the abstract “For the first time, a novel active speed-limit mechanism was introduced into the two-dimensional secondary deployable drive system of a large-scale spacial solar array, achieving a balance between large deployable driving torque and small locking impact load. A highly integrated and lightweight drive system has been designed, integrating motor drive, gear drive, and adaptive torque limiting device to achieve adaptive control of the deployment torque of the solar array. A dynamic simulation system for the entire process of a large-scale spacial solar array based on the Kane method and ADAMS model has been established. A two-dimensional secondary deployable motion control law for a large-scale solar array using an active speed-limit mechanism has been established, and the dynamic characteristic parameters of the active speed-limit driving mechanism have been determined, such as driving torque, driving mode, and driving speed. The results can be used to guide the design of the deployable driving mechanism for large-scale spacial solar arrays.” Please refer to the abstract for details.

The novelty of the article has been added to the intoduction “The combination of traditional coil spring drive and viscous damper cannot effec-tively solve the unique contradiction between the large driving torque and small locking impact load of the large-sized multi-panel solar array. Therefore, for the first time, an ac-tive speed-limit mechanism is introduced to replace the viscous damper, achieving a balance between the large driving torque and the small locking impact load. The designed adaptive speed-limit mechanism cleverly combines motor drive, gear transmission, and mechanical torque limiting devices, achieving predetermined functional performance under limited space and weight constraints. For the first time, a mathematical simulation system covering the entire process from torque limiter action to solar array deployment has been established, extracting key design parameters, providing a method for evaluating the effectiveness of adaptive speed-limit mechanisms and conducting subsequent detailed parameter optimization designs that can be quickly iterated”. Please refer to the introduction for details.

 

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 3 Report

Overall the paper has good analysis and results: Here are few of the comments:

1.       The sentence needs to be reworded “Suppose that the passive drive+passive deceleration modes are adopted. In that case, the viscous damper is installed at the root of the solar array.”.

2.       Fig. 1 must be of high resolution

3.       All figures throughout the paper have blurry texts and need to be improvised

4.       Check the title: Figure 3. Transmission schematic diagram and

5.       “This configuration is shown in Figures 4”. It should be Figure 4.

6.       Section 4.4: ADAMAS method or ADAMS method?

7.       Figures 11 -17, the x and y axis labels are not readable

 Minor editing of English language required

Author Response

1. The sentence needs to be reworded “Suppose that the passive drive+passive deceleration modes are adopted. In that case, the viscous damper is installed at the root of the solar array.”

Rewrite: If the passive drive and passive deceleration modes are adopted，the viscous damper is installed at the root of the solar array

 

2. Fig. 1 must be of high resolution

Fig. 1 has been revised.

 

3. All figures throughout the paper have blurry texts and need to be improvised

All figures have been checked and revised carefully throughout the paper.

 

4. Check the title: Figure 3. Transmission schematic diagram and

Rewrite the title: Transmission schematic diagram

 

5. “This configuration is shown in Figures 4”. It should be Figure 4.

It has been revised.

 

6. Section 4.4: ADAMAS method or ADAMS method?

They have been revised.

 

7. Figures 11 -17, the x and y axis labels are not readable

They have been revised.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx