Estimation of thermal conduction loads for structural supports of cryogenic spacecraft assemblies Original Research Article

Early in the design process of cryogenic space systems there is a critical need for means of estimating the parasitic conduction loads associated with structural supports. In a mature design, the conduction loads can be computed with good accuracy based on the design details. However, for a generic trade study early in the design process, what is desired is a generic relationship (for typical launch loading conditions) between overall support conductance, the ΔT involved, and the supported mass. This work derives such a universal relationship by examining a variety of flight-proven designs for cryogenic structural supports and then normalizing the data given the known relationships between material conductivity and temperature, between launch acceleration level and assembly mass, between launch acceleration loads and stresses and required support-member cross-sections, and between support-member cross-section and conductive load.