STRUCTURAL DESIGN AND ANALYSIS OF MARES VIBRATION ISOLATION FRAME

摘要

The MARES (Muscle Atrophy Research and ExerciseSystem) is a physiological research facility that will beused on board of the International Space Station (ISS) tocarry out research on muscle-skeletal, biomechanical,neuromuscular and neurological physiology. MARESwill be capable of assessing the strength of musclegroups by measuring and controlling the actuation of theastronauts against an electric motor is a series ofexercises.The nominal operation of MARES involves a number ofmoving elements with significant associated masses thatcan vary according to a wide range of exercises andpossible test subjects. This, together with the stringentmicro-gravity requirements applicable in ISS, raises theneed for challenging design solutions and verificationprocedures.In order to reduce the micro-gravity disturbancesintroduced to the ISS and to minimize the interfaceforces introduced at the attachments, MARES ismounted on a Vibration Isolation Frame (VIF).This paper outlines the design of the Vibration IsolationFrame of MARES and reviews its implications in themicro-gravity and structural verification process. Itdescribes the use of a non-linear Multi-body DynamicAnalysis code to study the effect of large displacementsand rotations and flexible mounting. The results of thisanalysis have a double use. First they serve for designpurposes to fine-tune the operational parameters of theVIF springs and dampers. And then also for verificationpurposes in order to assess the compliance with micro-gravityrequirements and to determine realistic interfaceforces during on-orbit operation.