IMPACT AND CRASHWORTfflNESS CHARACTERISTICS OF VENERA TYPE LANDERS FOR FUTURE VENUS MISSIONS

摘要

In this paper an in-depth investigation of the structural design of the Venera 9-14 landers is explored A complete reverse engineering of the Venera lander was required The lander was broken down into its fundamental components and analyzed This provided insights into the hidden features of the design. A trade study was performed to find the sensitiv ity of the lander's overall mass to variations of several key parameters. A multi-fidelity design tool used for further investigation of the parameterized lander was developed The low-fidelity model was a highly nonlinear analytical model developed to rapidly predict the mass of each design, while the medium and high fidelity models utilized an explicit finite element framework to verify the analytical predictions. This methodology allowed for a large variety of designs to be investigated An optimal configuration was found for a given payload mass. The optimal mass was 81 % of the baseline configuration based on the Venera 9 lander. Key features identified in the design of these robust landers will be used as foundations for the development of the next generation of landers for future exploration missions to Venus.