US3450372A - Self-projectable element for a space vehicle - Google Patents

Self-projectable element for a space vehicle Download PDF

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Publication number
US3450372A
US3450372A US525177A US3450372DA US3450372A US 3450372 A US3450372 A US 3450372A US 525177 A US525177 A US 525177A US 3450372D A US3450372D A US 3450372DA US 3450372 A US3450372 A US 3450372A
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United States
Prior art keywords
space vehicle
temperature
conversion
alloy
vehicle
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Expired - Lifetime
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US525177A
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English (en)
Inventor
Robert Gerardus De Lange
Cornelis Antonius Verbraak
Jacobus Antonius Zijderveld
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Nederlandse Organisatie voor Toegepast Natuurwetenschappelijk Onderzoek TNO
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Nederlandse Organisatie voor Toegepast Natuurwetenschappelijk Onderzoek TNO
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    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B64—AIRCRAFT; AVIATION; COSMONAUTICS
    • B64G—COSMONAUTICS; VEHICLES OR EQUIPMENT THEREFOR
    • B64G1/00—Cosmonautic vehicles
    • B64G1/22—Parts of, or equipment specially adapted for fitting in or to, cosmonautic vehicles
    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C22—METALLURGY; FERROUS OR NON-FERROUS ALLOYS; TREATMENT OF ALLOYS OR NON-FERROUS METALS
    • C22C—ALLOYS
    • C22C19/00—Alloys based on nickel or cobalt
    • C22C19/007—Alloys based on nickel or cobalt with a light metal (alkali metal Li, Na, K, Rb, Cs; earth alkali metal Be, Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba, Al Ga, Ge, Ti) or B, Si, Zr, Hf, Sc, Y, lanthanides, actinides, as the next major constituent
    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C22—METALLURGY; FERROUS OR NON-FERROUS ALLOYS; TREATMENT OF ALLOYS OR NON-FERROUS METALS
    • C22F—CHANGING THE PHYSICAL STRUCTURE OF NON-FERROUS METALS AND NON-FERROUS ALLOYS
    • C22F1/00—Changing the physical structure of non-ferrous metals or alloys by heat treatment or by hot or cold working
    • C22F1/006—Resulting in heat recoverable alloys with a memory effect

Definitions

  • ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,450,372 SELF-PROJECTABLE ELEMENT FOR A SPACE VEHICLE Robert Gerardus de Lange, Reeuwijk, Cornelis Antonius Verbraak, Beekbergen, and Jacobus Antonius Zijderveld, Zoetermeer, Netherlands, assignors to N ederlandse Organisatie voor Toegepast- Natuurwetenschappelijk Onderzoek ten behoeve van Nijverheid, Handel en Verkeer, a corporation of the Netherlands Filed Feb. 4, 1966, Ser. No. 525,177 Claims priority, application Netherlands, Feb. 10, 1965, 6501606 Int. Cl.
  • a space vehicle provided with at least one device adapted to be projected from the body of the vehicle in order to perform a function as an aerial, an antenna, a reflector, a solar battery, a rotation-reducing or stabilizing means, or as a carrier of any of these, said device comprising at least one wound-up element made of a ubstantially equi-atomic nickel-titanium alloy adapted to be unfolded substantially under the influence of special heat radiation.
  • Such devices include coils which unroll around their axes and/ or axially to form hollow helicoidal shapes or hollow cones.
  • These devices when in their coiled position may be located within cavities in the space vehicle, that is below its outer surface, and be projected beyond the surface either by their own action to heat radiation, or together with mechanical means initiated by a signal, or they may even be wrapped around a cylindrical portion of the space vehicle itself.
  • Aerials are known, which are kept agains the body of the vehicle by wires, which are released at the required time and which unfold under the influence of the centrifugal force.
  • Reflectors are known comprising segments folded one against the other, each of which is fastened about a centre of rotation and which after a definite signal are rotated by a motor and are unfolded.
  • the present invention relates to elements, such as for a space vehicle which elements can be projected without auxiliary means being required to attain the desired straightening of the rolled device.
  • the present invention is for devices which may at a given time or in a given situation, be projected, which devices mainly consist of an unwindable wire, strip, or foil made of nickel-titanium alloy having about equal atom percentages of nickel and titanium wherein the nickel does not exceed 60% by weight of the alloy.
  • These devices prior to being wound up, have been extended below their conversion-temperature ranges, and held in their stretched or extended state while being heated above and slowly cooled below their conversion-temperature ranges.
  • the elements per se The element is preferably constructed as a strip or foil, which in the stretched state is curved about its longitudinal axis to increase its rigidity.
  • the conversion-temperature range lies between 50 and centigrade.
  • the cast material used as a starting point for the production of such projecting elements is rolled ino sheet material at a temperature below 800 centigrade and preferably below about 750 centigrade, after which heating up to 750 centigrade follows and renewed rolling into strips can be effected.
  • an element is cut in the dimensions required, an elongated thin strip being preferred.
  • the strip should be brought into the shape required as the projected element below the lowest temperature of the conversion-temperature range, the shape preferably having a curved transverse cross-section, like a coilable metal measuring tape, like a portion of a tube or cone, or like a helicoidally wound strip.
  • the strip is clamped fast and subjected to a temperature in excess of the conversion-temperature range. After a temperature upwards of the highest conversion temperature has been reached in all and every part of the strip, the latter while still being held is cooled to below the lowest conversion temperature by cooling in the air.
  • the cooled strip below its conversion temperature range can be physically changed into a different form, for instance by rolling or winding it up into one of the above mentioned shapes. In this manner even a very drastic change of shape may be made, provided that no sharp creases or bucklings are made.
  • the element may be positioned in a space vehicle as shown in the drawings and connected up.
  • the exterior end 12 of a coiled element 13 is fixed to the vehicle 1 in such a way that the axis of the coil 13 is parallel to the surface from which the element is to be projected and that the direction of unfolding is perpendicular to the said surface.
  • the element may fit into a cavity 2 in the vehicle 1, the outer open side of which cavity 2 may be screened off from the radiation during the launching and while the space vehicle is gathering height.
  • the winding 13 is exposed to the radiation of the sun or of some other celestial body. This causes the temperature of the outermost turns of the coil or winding 13 to raise and soon as the conversion-temperature range has been reached, these turns are stretched one after another. The part which is still rolled up moves out of the cavity 2 and away from the vehicle and gradually all of the turns are exposed and thereby stretched, and the element 10 reaches its completely outstretched state.
  • a coil or winding 23 may be wrapped around a cylindrical portion 3 of the space vehicle 1 itself and may unfurl and stretch itself like a flag 24.
  • the coiled strip 33 may be fixed to a shaft 35 by its innermost turn 36, and be accommodated in a cavity 4 inside the space vehicle. Upon a signal, the shaft 35 is projected, such as by a piston or rack and pinion 37 and 38, from the cavity 4 and out from the surface of the vehicle 1 so that the turns 33 then can be exposed to radiation, and spontaneously unfurl like a flag or pennant 39.
  • a still further embodiment shows an element 40 that has been rolled up like a spiral 47, which when unfolded, stretches itself out of its cavity 5 in the vehicle 1 axially relative to the axis of the winding so as to form a helicoidal tube 48 with a diameter which decreases or increases) towards its projected end 49.
  • a composite element consisting of a number of strips or foils, which after heating unfold into one or more screens. It may be useful to intensify the initiation of the unfolding by providing a heating source in the space vehicle, for instance for bringing the element forward from a protected position. It is however essential that no auxiliary means must be provided for the stretching or unwinding of the devices in that the element derives its unfolding exclusively from its own characteristic material properties and at least from spacial radiation coming from outside itself or its vehicle.
  • the element itself may serve as an aerial, a reflector or a retarding or a stabilizing element, but it may function just as well as a carrier of these or a carrier of solar batteries, provided of course that the parts to be carried are dimensioned in such a manner that they dont form an impediment to the elements being in a wound-up state or to the unrolling movements to be carried out while the conversion-temperature range is being passed through.
  • this element may also be constructed as a gripping or coupling element or may function as a carrier of the same.
  • the gripping or coupling action may be obtained by giving that part of the element that is used for this action, for instance its extremity, a basic form which is not stretched but has, for instance, the shape of a hook, a gripper or a cup, which is opened, but which closes itself consequential to a rise in temperature.
  • Such an element may 'be used an an anchor or a sampler on a celestial body.
  • a temperature responsive selfprojectable device comprising:
  • a temperature responsive selfprojectable device comprising:
  • a temperature responsive selfprojectable device comprising:

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  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Materials Engineering (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Metallurgy (AREA)
  • Organic Chemistry (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Thermal Sciences (AREA)
  • Crystallography & Structural Chemistry (AREA)
  • Remote Sensing (AREA)
  • Aviation & Aerospace Engineering (AREA)
  • Heat Treatment Of Nonferrous Metals Or Alloys (AREA)
  • Aerials With Secondary Devices (AREA)
  • Diaphragms For Electromechanical Transducers (AREA)
US525177A 1965-02-10 1966-02-04 Self-projectable element for a space vehicle Expired - Lifetime US3450372A (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
NL6501606A NL6501606A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow) 1965-02-10 1965-02-10

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
US3450372A true US3450372A (en) 1969-06-17

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ID=19792321

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US525177A Expired - Lifetime US3450372A (en) 1965-02-10 1966-02-04 Self-projectable element for a space vehicle

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US (1) US3450372A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
BE (1) BE676263A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
DE (1) DE1267995B (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
GB (1) GB1116158A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
NL (1) NL6501606A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)

Cited By (14)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3603530A (en) * 1969-10-03 1971-09-07 Us Navy Passive temperature control for satellite
US3684994A (en) * 1969-07-02 1972-08-15 Robertshaw Controls Co Hot wire relay type devices and methods of maintaining or producing such devices
US3753700A (en) * 1970-07-02 1973-08-21 Raychem Corp Heat recoverable alloy
US3957206A (en) * 1975-01-27 1976-05-18 The United States Of America As Represented By The Secretary Of The Air Force Extendable rocket motor exhaust nozzle
US4144057A (en) * 1976-08-26 1979-03-13 Bbc Brown, Boveri & Company, Limited Shape memory alloys
US4244140A (en) * 1977-11-14 1981-01-13 Kibong Kim Toys with shape memory alloys
US5275885A (en) * 1988-12-19 1994-01-04 Ngk Spark Plug Co., Ltd. Piezoelectric cable
US5312152A (en) * 1991-10-23 1994-05-17 Martin Marietta Corporation Shape memory metal actuated separation device
US5344506A (en) * 1991-10-23 1994-09-06 Martin Marietta Corporation Shape memory metal actuator and cable cutter
US5674027A (en) * 1995-11-20 1997-10-07 Applied Research Associates, Inc. Exaggerated actuation and bearing-free rotational mobility in smart hinges
US6006522A (en) * 1998-08-10 1999-12-28 Lockheed Martin Corporation Translational actuator
US6129181A (en) * 1998-05-26 2000-10-10 Lockheed Corp Constant force spring actuator
USD467910S1 (en) 2001-12-28 2002-12-31 Dx Antenna Company, Limited Antenna
USD468302S1 (en) 2001-12-28 2003-01-07 Dx Antenna Company, Limited Antenna

Families Citing this family (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
BE758861A (fr) * 1969-11-12 1971-04-16 Fulmer Res Inst Ltd Perfectionnements au traitement d'alliages
US4941627A (en) * 1975-12-16 1990-07-17 The United States Of America As Represented By The Secretary Of The Navy Guidance and control fin
US4617448A (en) * 1984-12-18 1986-10-14 North American Philips Corporation Electrically releasable locking device
FR2630172A1 (fr) * 1988-04-15 1989-10-20 Renault Dispositif de maitrise de la precharge d'un montage de deux roulements en fonctionnement

Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3145948A (en) * 1962-07-09 1964-08-25 Richard B Kershner Satellite rotation by radiation pressure
US3168263A (en) * 1961-11-20 1965-02-02 Gen Dynamics Corp Gravity gradient satellite orientation system
US3243143A (en) * 1962-11-27 1966-03-29 Gen Electric Doubly stabilized satellite
US3391882A (en) * 1964-03-11 1968-07-09 Keltec Ind Inc Erectable structure for a space environment

Family Cites Families (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
FR1317651A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow) * 1963-05-10
US3004735A (en) * 1959-12-21 1961-10-17 William H Kinard Particle detection apparatus
US3144215A (en) * 1961-01-19 1964-08-11 Dehavilland Aircraft Canada Coilable extensible apparatus

Patent Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3168263A (en) * 1961-11-20 1965-02-02 Gen Dynamics Corp Gravity gradient satellite orientation system
US3145948A (en) * 1962-07-09 1964-08-25 Richard B Kershner Satellite rotation by radiation pressure
US3243143A (en) * 1962-11-27 1966-03-29 Gen Electric Doubly stabilized satellite
US3391882A (en) * 1964-03-11 1968-07-09 Keltec Ind Inc Erectable structure for a space environment

Cited By (14)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3684994A (en) * 1969-07-02 1972-08-15 Robertshaw Controls Co Hot wire relay type devices and methods of maintaining or producing such devices
US3603530A (en) * 1969-10-03 1971-09-07 Us Navy Passive temperature control for satellite
US3753700A (en) * 1970-07-02 1973-08-21 Raychem Corp Heat recoverable alloy
US3957206A (en) * 1975-01-27 1976-05-18 The United States Of America As Represented By The Secretary Of The Air Force Extendable rocket motor exhaust nozzle
US4144057A (en) * 1976-08-26 1979-03-13 Bbc Brown, Boveri & Company, Limited Shape memory alloys
US4244140A (en) * 1977-11-14 1981-01-13 Kibong Kim Toys with shape memory alloys
US5275885A (en) * 1988-12-19 1994-01-04 Ngk Spark Plug Co., Ltd. Piezoelectric cable
US5312152A (en) * 1991-10-23 1994-05-17 Martin Marietta Corporation Shape memory metal actuated separation device
US5344506A (en) * 1991-10-23 1994-09-06 Martin Marietta Corporation Shape memory metal actuator and cable cutter
US5674027A (en) * 1995-11-20 1997-10-07 Applied Research Associates, Inc. Exaggerated actuation and bearing-free rotational mobility in smart hinges
US6129181A (en) * 1998-05-26 2000-10-10 Lockheed Corp Constant force spring actuator
US6006522A (en) * 1998-08-10 1999-12-28 Lockheed Martin Corporation Translational actuator
USD467910S1 (en) 2001-12-28 2002-12-31 Dx Antenna Company, Limited Antenna
USD468302S1 (en) 2001-12-28 2003-01-07 Dx Antenna Company, Limited Antenna

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
GB1116158A (en) 1968-06-06
NL6501606A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow) 1966-08-11
BE676263A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow) 1966-08-09
DE1267995B (de) 1968-05-09

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