The damping performance of centrifugal mechanical dampers in a thermal vacuum environment

This paper presents a centrifugal mechanical damper for the reel-type deployment mechanism of satellites, accounting for the required technical specifications. First, theoretical calculations reveal that the centrifugal mechanical damper has two stages: a non-speed-limiting state and a speed-limiting state. A kinematic simulation of the centrifugal mechanical damper is performed using ADAMS software, which further verifies the correctness of the theoretical calculations. To test the damping characteristics of the centrifugal mechanical damper under same-direction load conditions and study the influence of the full-temperature vacuum environment on its damping performance, a test system is designed and built to measure the rotational speed–load–damping torque characteristics of the centrifugal mechanical damper. Temperature and vacuum degree control measures are applied to the test equipment to ensure the accuracy of measuring the damping performance curve of the test system in the full-temperature vacuum environment. The damping torque of the centrifugal mechanical damper in a full-temperature environment is tested and compared with its performance in a normal-temperature, normal-pressure environment. The results show that the vacuum low-temperature environment has no impact on the damping performance of the centrifugal mechanical damper under a same-direction load. Furthermore, it is found that when the torque–speed ratio reaches a certain value, the friction coefficient between the friction shoe and the counterpart decreases. The specific variation law should be verified in subsequent studies. The research results of this paper provide a reliable foundation for the broad application of centrifugal mechanical dampers in the military sector, especially in the aerospace field.