Conceptual design and dynamics modelling of tethered solar shield

The objective of the proposed project is the development of a tethered solar shield to reduce the amount of solar radiation to Earth, thereby opening up the possibility to combat global warming. The intern will work on the following two phases. The intern will begin by carrying out literature review on the designs proposed for solar shields to date, and tethered systems deployed in the solar system. The intern will carry out basic analysis to determine the mass and tether length requirements on the shield and the ballast body. Once the basic system design has been established, the intern will work on formulating the dynamics model of this system. Different modeling options will be considered for the shield, the ballast body and tether, ranging from point mass to flexible-body models. The relevant perturbations that are important for the particular system will be assessed and suitable models for those perturbations will be identified. The formulated model will be implemented in Matlab and dynamics analysis will be carried out to study the response of the system. This work will provide the necessary insights into the requirements for the next phase of the project which is the control of the tethered solar shield.

Faculty Supervisor:

Inna Sharf

Student:

Partner:

Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Education

University:

McGill University

Program: