Characteristics of spaceborne cooler passive vibration isolator by using a compressed shape memory alloy mesh washer

Cryogenic coolers produce undesirable micro-vibrations during on-orbit operation, which may seriously affect the image quality of high-resolution observation satellites. Micro-vibrations can be easily isolated by mounting the cooler on a vibration isolator with low stiffness to attenuate the vibration transmitted to the satellite structure. However, the structural safety of a cooler supported by an isolator with low stiffness cannot be guaranteed under the much more severe vibration condition of a launch environment. In this study, to guarantee vibration isolation performance in a launch environment while effectively isolating the micro-vibrations from the cooler on-orbit, a new type of passive vibration isolation system by using a compressed shape memory alloy mesh washer was proposed and investigated. The basic characteristics of the isolator were measured in static and free vibration tests of the isolator, and a simple equivalent model of the isolator was proposed. The effectiveness of the isolator design in a launch environment was demonstrated through sine vibration, random vibration, and shock tests.