SBIR-STTR Award

Integrated Design and Optimization of Thermal/Structural/Optical Systems
Award last edited on: 3/12/02

Sponsored Program
SBIR
Awarding Agency
NASA : GSFC
Total Award Amount
$670,000
Award Phase
2
Solicitation Topic Code
-----

Principal Investigator
Brent A Cullimore

Company Information

C&R Technologies (AKA: Cullimore & Ring Technologies Inc)

2501 Briarwood Drive
Boulder, CO 80305
   (303) 971-0292
   N/A
   www.crtech.com
Location: Single
Congr. District: 02
County: Boulder

Phase I

Contract Number: ----------
Start Date: 00/00/00    Completed: 00/00/00
Phase I year
1997
Phase I Amount
$70,000
Without an ability to share design tools, the disciplines of thermal control, structures, and optics levy worst-case performance requirements on each other such that each specialty can contribute to a design independently. This results in a stack-up of margins and inevitably to over-design to the point of rendering advance missions such as the NGST, with its cryogenic large aperature optics, difficult to achieve without an integrated design approach. For example, temperature gradients in a mirror support structure are inconsequential as long as the required optical performance is achieved, yet derived limits on such gradients often become a design driver for thermal control specialists. Recent innovations by the proposed development team have eliminated many of the stumbling blocks that stymied previous attempts to achieve a tight integration between thermal control, structures, and optics. These advances include a finite element-compatible thermal radiation analyzer, thermal tools compatible with CAD databases, optimizing thermal/fluid solvers, and integrated structures/optics design and optimization. It is now possible to achieve not only an integrated tool suite, but also one that can automatically find the mimimum mass design that meets required optical performance under all structural load cases and thermal environments. Revolutionary designs are expected from a revolution in the design process.

Phase II

Contract Number: ----------
Start Date: 00/00/00    Completed: 00/00/00
Phase II year
1998
Phase II Amount
$600,000
___(NOTE: Note: no official Abstract exists of this Phase II projects. Abstract is modified by idi from relevant Phase I data. The specific Phase II work statement and objectives may differ)___ Without an ability to share design tools, the disciplines of thermal control, structures, and optics levy worst-case performance requirements on each other such that each specialty can contribute to a design independently. This results in a stack-up of margins and inevitably to over-design to the point of rendering advance missions such as the NGST, with its cryogenic large aperature optics, difficult to achieve without an integrated design approach. For example, temperature gradients in a mirror support structure are inconsequential as long as the required optical performance is achieved, yet derived limits on such gradients often become a design driver for thermal control specialists. Recent innovations by the proposed development team have eliminated many of the stumbling blocks that stymied previous attempts to achieve a tight integration between thermal control, structures, and optics. These advances include a finite element-compatible thermal radiation analyzer, thermal tools compatible with CAD databases, optimizing thermal/fluid solvers, and integrated structures/optics design and optimization. It is now possible to achieve not only an integrated tool suite, but also one that can automatically find the mimimum mass design that meets required optical performance under all structural load cases and thermal environments. Revolutionary designs are expected from a revolution in the design process.