{"id":11144,"date":"2024-11-18T11:07:19","date_gmt":"2024-11-18T16:07:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/?p=11144"},"modified":"2024-11-18T11:07:21","modified_gmt":"2024-11-18T16:07:21","slug":"analyswift-receives-nasa-sttr-contract-to-transform-spacecraft-infrastructure-for-secondary-uses-during-long-duration-missions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/2024\/Q4\/analyswift-receives-nasa-sttr-contract-to-transform-spacecraft-infrastructure-for-secondary-uses-during-long-duration-missions","title":{"rendered":"AnalySwift receives NASA STTR contract to transform spacecraft infrastructure for secondary uses during long-duration missions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. \u2014 AnalySwift LLC<\/a>, a Purdue University-affiliated company, has received a Phase I STTR (Small Business Technology Transfer) contract from NASA worth $156,424.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Allan Wood, AnalySwift president and CEO, said the contract will fund two advancements: processes and hardware to disassemble spacecraft components and reassemble them for a secondary use, and software for multiphysics simulation and analysis of the involved thermoplastics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kawai Kwok<\/a>, associate professor in Purdue\u2019s School of Aeronautics and Astronautics<\/a>, is the principal investigator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wood said long-duration crewed missions to the moon, Mars and beyond require infrastructure, such as trusses, to be constructed sustainably on these surfaces. But there are immense logistical challenges in transporting heavy and large payloads to space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe AnalySwift project proposes a novel method of disassembling and reassembling thermoplastic composite joints in space,\u201d he said. \u201cOur proposed method enables reconfiguration of truss structures in space, transitioning away from the current one-time use model to a scalable and sustainable approach.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kwok said spacecraft components could be quickly and easily repurposed into vastly different geometries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor example, a lunar lander support truss could become a vertical solar array support truss,\u201d he said. \u201cThere are other applications, depending on mission needs using the same set of structural elements and innovative multiphysics modeling.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Contract deliverables<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Kwok said AnalySwift will develop a composite heater layer for the trusses and other infrastructure; it will be embedded with nanostructured carbon fillers. The layer will be made from the same thermoplastic matrix as the adhered composite parts. The layer will bring the matrix to the processing temperature for interface debonding by mechanical forces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLightweight conductive nanocarbon thin films will be encapsulated inside semicrystalline thermoplastics such as PEEK (polyether ether ketone),\u201d he said. \u201cThe disassembled struts and joints will be reassembled to the repurposed configuration via resistance welding using the same or additional heaters. The proposed in situ heating and reassembly method enables spacecraft components to be reutilized, which greatly reduces the logistical footprint to deliver technologies to space.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Liang Zhang, senior research scientist at AnalySwift, said the company also will develop better engineering tools for composites, enabling reliable multiphysics simulation of their technique to repurpose lightweight structures made from thermoplastics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTheoretical and computational developments will include a new software tool or module, Thermoplastic Composites Multiphysics,\u201d he said. \u201cThis multiphysics modeling framework will simulate the debonding and bonding processes of thermoplastic composite joint-strut interfaces using embedded carbon nanoheaters.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kwok said the framework has broader applications for thermoplastics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAdvancements include developing multiphysics models and data for electrical heating and welding, including establishing relations between bonding strength and the process conditions of temperature, pressure and time,\u201d he said. \u201cMore specifically, the disassembly and assembly processes of a nanocomposite is simulated using a third-party commercial finite element code with user subroutines defining the governing behavior of the material system.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zhang said AnalySwift\u2019s multiphysics simulation tool will determine force, pressure and temperature histories during assembly and disassembly processes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMore specifically, it will incrementally solve the constitutive relations as an initial value problem, extract temperature distributions at specific time points, and calculate the time and power required for completion,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Non-space applications<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Wood said the processes and hardware advancements for disassembly and reassembly are more applicable to space applications, but the software has other potential uses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt can be particularly useful where simulation tools can improve utilization possibilities for high-performance thermoplastics,\u201d he said. \u201cAdditional applications can be likely for aerospace, defense, automotive, marine, energy, electronics, sporting goods and medical devices. Applications also extend beyond simulation and into repair for thermoplastics.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About AnalySwift<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

AnalySwift LLC is a provider of composite simulation software, which enables an unprecedented combination of efficiency and accuracy, including multiphysics structural and micromechanics modeling. Drawing on cutting-edge university technology, AnalySwift\u2019s powerful solutions save orders of magnitude in computing time without a loss of accuracy so users can consider more design options and arrive at the best solution more quickly. The technologies deliver the accuracy of detailed 3D finite element analysis at the efficiency of simple engineering models. SwiftComp was developed at Purdue University and licensed from the Purdue Research Foundation. Contact AnalySwift at info@analyswift.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About Purdue Innovates Office of Technology Commercialization<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Purdue Innovates Office of Technology Commercialization<\/a> operates one of the most comprehensive technology transfer programs among leading research universities in the U.S. Services provided by this office support the economic development initiatives of Purdue University and benefit the university\u2019s academic activities through commercializing, licensing and protecting Purdue intellectual property. In fiscal year 2024, the office reported 145 deals finalized with 224 technologies signed, 466 invention disclosures received, and 290 U.S. and international patents received. The office is managed by the Purdue Research Foundation, a private, nonprofit foundation created to advance the mission of Purdue University. Contact otcip@prf.org<\/a> for more information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About Purdue University<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Purdue University is a public research institution demonstrating excellence at scale. Ranked among top 10 public universities and with two colleges in the top four in the United States, Purdue discovers and disseminates knowledge with a quality and at a scale second to none. More than 105,000 students study at Purdue across modalities and locations, including nearly 50,000 in person on the West Lafayette campus. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue\u2019s main campus has frozen tuition 13 years in a row. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap \u2014 including its first comprehensive urban campus in Indianapolis, the Mitch Daniels School of Business, Purdue Computes and the One Health initiative \u2014 at https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/president\/strategic-initiatives<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\n Media contact:<\/strong> Steve Martin, sgmartin@prf.org<\/a> <\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. \u2014 AnalySwift LLC, a Purdue University-affiliated company, has received a Phase I STTR (Small Business Technology Transfer) contract from NASA worth $156,424. Allan Wood, AnalySwift president and CEO, said the contract will fund two advancements: processes and<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":11101,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[316],"tags":[],"department":[],"source":[35],"purdue_today_topic":[],"coauthors":[44],"class_list":["post-11144","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-prf","source-purdue-research-foundation"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11144","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11144"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11144\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11145,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11144\/revisions\/11145"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11101"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11144"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11144"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11144"},{"taxonomy":"department","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/department?post=11144"},{"taxonomy":"source","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/source?post=11144"},{"taxonomy":"purdue_today_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/purdue_today_topic?post=11144"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=11144"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}