Manufacturing Methods and Technology Program for Stabilized Line of Sight Composite Gimbal.

Abstract

The program effectively applied graphite epoxy composite to an electro-optical gimbal system resulting in a lighter gimbal with higher inherent damping. In addition, the coefficient of thermal expansion of the composite gimbal is more closely matched to the stainless steel bearings used in the assembly than is the case for an aluminum gimbal. In the composite gimbal, weight was reduced by 1/3. The stiffness-to-weight ratio has been increased by a factor of two. The damping ratio has been improved by a factor of 4. The stiffness was designed to provide natural frequencies of 150 Hz or higher. The lowest measured resonance was 136 Hz for the first sample, which was dimensionally similar to the aluminum design.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Dec 01, 1981
Accession Number
ADA305261

Entities

People

  • Joel T. Johnson
  • R. L. Kolek
  • R. S. Zucker
  • T. F. Grapes
  • W. B. Lloyd

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Sensors
  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Composite Materials
  • Construction
  • Epoxy Composites
  • Fabrication
  • Graphite Epoxy Composites
  • Graphitic Materials
  • Manufacturing
  • Material Degradation Processes
  • Materials
  • Materials Processing
  • Materials Science
  • Materials Testing
  • Mechanical Working
  • Modulus Of Elasticity
  • Quality Control
  • Resonant Frequency
  • Test And Evaluation

Readers

  • Control Systems Engineering.
  • Inertial Navigation Systems.
  • Reinforced Composite Materials