The design of astronautic structures is always a trade-off between weight, complexity, manufacturing cost and the ability of withstanding the loads during the launch and the operational life. One of the most powerful and commonly used tools for the structural design is the Finite Element Method (FEM). In the School of Aerospace Engineering FEM analysis is used for modeling the structure of small satellites (such as CubeSats) and their payloads, and also for bigger structures (such as antennas, or separation systems such as the one developed for the LARES mission). The course will discuss the most common design techniques for space structures using statics and dynamics FEM analysis. Practical examples using FEM software will be presented to better understand specific problems.

The students will learn the basics of FEM analysis and will be able to create a finite element model to solve a specific strutural problem. The students will be able to evaluate the accuracy of the simulation, to identify the errors and to understand the post-processing results (strain, stress, modal analysis, etc...)