Review on space energy Zhang, Tao; Li, Yiteng; Chen, Yin ...
Applied energy,
06/2021, Volume:
292
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
Energy resources in outer space, also known as space energy, has been recognized as a promising supplement to conventional energy supplies on Earth, as well as an irreplaceable energy provision for ...future space explorations. A critical review is conducted in this paper, to identify the most potential space energy resources, to conclude on the current exploitation technologies and to suggest on the challenges and future directions. Space solar power station, also known as SSPS, is presented first as a well-known utilization of space energy, and we go through the international progress, evolution of the collection systems and the thermophotovoltaic systems. The main technical gaps hampering the practical application of SSPS is concluded then to inspire future investigations. Energy on Mars is presented afterwards as a representative ISRU(In Situ Resource Utilization)-type energy resource, and we select three potential resources on Mars worth exploitation: solar energy, geothermal energy and wind energy. A model describing the global solar irradiance on Mars is concluded, typical applications of geothermal energy is analyzed, the phase equilibrium of geothermal fluids is established and the wind turbine is designed. Furthermore, the review on energy on Moon is started with the discussion on lunar geology relevant with energy resources, and an example of feature detection using Convolutional Neural Networks is illustrated as an example to demonstrate the application of deep learning techniques in space energy exploitation. Solar energy is always taken into account in space activities, and we are more focusing on the discussion of Helium-3, a promising resource for nuclear fusion. The material for nuclear fission, Uranium, has also been detected on Moon. A summary is provided in the end with concluding remarks.
•A comprehensive review on space energy, with a thorough investigation on literature and international news.•Declaration of three main space energy utilization manners and information provided on the representative resources.•Study on the application of well-developed conventional energy development technologies on space energy utilizations.•Technic details on resource recognition, exploitation facilities and mechanism analysis.
This study introduces a type of solid-state transformer (SST) for solar power station design and an energy management strategy (EMS) for the SST. The purpose of this study is to design a real ...efficient EMS for the photovoltaic-assisted charging station in smart grid ancillary services and apply the optimal decision method. Also, the energy bound calculation (EBC) model is proposed to find the upper and lower bounds of flexible sources. Also, taking into account the EBC results and the power order from the aggregator, a charge power allocation algorithm is designed to distribute the power of flexible electric vehicles (EVs). With the help of a case study and laboratory analysis, the proposed EMS strategy is effective in real-time energy management and is suitable for practical applications. The obtained results show the stable performance in the calculation of the energy range and real-time power allocation which improves the efficiency of the photovoltaic-based charging station. Also, the SST improves the operation of charge stations for supplying the sustaining power.
When the Space Solar Power Station operates in its geostationary orbit, deep dielectric charging may occur due to the implantation of the space electrons into the dielectrics and destroy the ...electronic devices. In this work, during the high-energy electron storms event, the deep dielectric charging characteristics of the poly-ether-ether-ketone flat plate have been studied by the Geant4 simulation as a function of temperature. It is found that the maximum electric field strength decreases when the temperature of the space environment increases, which is due to the increasing dark conductivity. When the front plate of the poly-ether-ether-ketone is biased at 10,000 V, and the back plate is grounded, the electrostatic discharge is the most likely to occur, while the case of 10,000 V on the front plate with the back plate suspended (ungrounded) is the safest. It is well analyzed through the influence of the initial electric field generated by the bias voltage on the electric field induced by the electron deposition.
The ultra-large microwave-transmitting antenna has attracted great research interest in Space Solar Power Station (SSPS). This study aims to explore the design of a new type of ultra-large planar ...deployable structures for SSPS. This structure has the merits of a large folding ratio and reliable new driving/locking systems with high stiffness. The primary novelty is the new planar deployable structure, of which the basic module is composed of three square units. On the opposite sides of the square unit, torsion springs in the driving/locking systems provide the driving force for deployment. There are three types of driving/locking systems and two types of member bars in each planar deployable structure, which can deploy in both horizontal and vertical directions from the initial folded state. In the thickness direction, there exists an option between deployable (with driving/locking systems) and undeployable (without driving/locking systems) scheme. We describe the design details and working principle of driving/locking systems. The deployment of the basic module is then simulated. Considering the carrying capacity of the future heavy launchers, a large deployable subarray, which consists of the repeating modules, with a full length of 50 m and a width of 7 m is designed and analyzed. Moreover, the initial folded size of the subarray is only 4.8 m × 4.8 m. Finally, we propose a SSPS model with one 200 m-caliber antenna composed of multiple subarrays and two 600 m-length solar cell arrays. Dynamic analysis for this SSPS model shows that the stiffness of this basic deployable structure satisfies the requirements of ultra-large SSPS's performance.
This paper proposes an innovative thermal control strategy for obtaining optimum layout of Orb-shape Membrane Energy Gathering Array (OMEGA) space solar power station radiator based simultaneous ...shape and topology optimization. Firstly, a parameter in term of maximum heat dissipation per mass is introduced for the optimal configuration using the Particle Swarm optimization algorithm. Then, analogizing the butterfly wing vein and branch points, a better layout of heat transfer network is inspired to conduct. Based on this, the virtual temperature points are added for completely constructing bionic butterfly wing heat transfer network and the calculation method is derived and discussed in detail. Finally, the derived method is realized through topology optimization method and the validity is verified through comparison of thermal analysis results. Unlike other radiators design, the proposed method optimizes layout of radiator from both two aspects of configuration outside and bionic butterfly wing heat transfer network inside, which is meaningful for the future application.
•A new Free-Drift Solar Power Satellite concept is proposed.•Large amount of fuel is saved because of the free-drift orbit and attitude.•Symmetric layout is adopted to reduce attitude ...disturbance.•Two transmitting antennas are used to reduce the total length of cables.
Solar power satellite is known as a promising source of clean energy from space in the future. One of the key problems of current solar power satellite concepts is the huge cost because of the excessively large mass and fuel consumption. The objective of this paper is to propose a new Free-Drift Solar Power Satellite concept that reduce mass and fuel consumption. Firstly, Sun-frozen orbit in geosynchronous Laplace plane and quasi-Sun-pointing attitude are designed to significantly save orbital and attitude control fuel. To this end, an orbit-attitude coupled modelling method considering space perturbations is proposed for multibody systems. Orbital and attitude dynamics and control are studied to substantiate the orbit and attitude design. Secondly, two transmitting antennas and three solar arrays are adopted and allocated elaborately to reduce structural deformations and attitude disturbance. The mass of the transmitting cables from solar arrays to transmitting antennas is also reduced by the proposed layout. Finite element analysis is performed to validate the design of supporting structures. Finally, other subsystems are briefly introduced and the system parameters are summarized.
Space Solar Power Station (SSPS) is a giant spacecraft to collect space solar energy and transmit electric energy to the ground by using the wireless transmission technology. As a concentrated space ...solar power station, SSPS via the Orb-shape Membrane Energy Gathering Array (OMEGA) system is comprised of the concentrator subsystem, the photovoltaic array subsystem and the transmitting antenna subsystem. In this manuscript, the comprehensive study on the coordinate kinematic among subsystems is carried out. Firstly, kinematic analysis and dynamic analysis are conducted. Secondly, under the condition of ideal attitude, the influence of the moving condition of the Photovoltaic (PV) array on the overall system is studied. Finally, the control ability for the deviation attitude caused by the acceleration process of the photovoltaic array is studied. The simulation results demonstrate the serious influence of the angular acceleration of the photovoltaic array on the system's attitude and the validity of the designed attitude control system.
•A new orbit-attitude combination mode is proposed for solar power satellites.•A large amount of orbit-attitude control fuel can be saved.•The dry mass of the control system can be decreased ...significantly.•Structural vibration is hardly induced by the gravity-gradient torque.•The bending stiffness and the mass of the supporting structure can be reduced.
Solar power satellite receives great attention because it can release the energy crisis and environmental problems in the future. However, the launch and maintenance costs are tremendous due to the large system mass and large fuel consumption to counteract space perturbations. To reduce mass and fuel, a novel quasi-Sun-pointing attitude in Sun-frozen orbit is proposed. The Sun-frozen orbit has a nonzero eccentricity vector that always points towards the Sun. The quasi-Sun-pointing attitude is a periodic solution of the Sun-pointing attitude angle. Although about 3 % electricity must be given up because of the variation of Sun-pointing attitude angle, little control action is required to deal with the solar radiation pressure and gravity-gradient torque. The algorithm to obtain initial conditions is proposed. The influences of system parameters and structural flexibilities are studied. Simulation results reveal that the quasi-Sun-pointing attitude in Sun-frozen orbit dramatically reduce fuel consumption, the dry mass, and complexity of the control system. In addition, structural vibration is hardly induced by the gravity-gradient torque. Thus, the bending stiffness as well as the mass of the supporting structure can be reduced.
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