classical collision of solid bodies as well as equations which consider final deformations of the shock absorbers and structures. The most difficult was the description of the geometry of the interacting surfaces and the search for the points of interaction, especially for peripheral docking devices. To plan, synthesize, and analyze the shock absorption system required simpler engineering methods. Chapter 4 outlines a method which is based on the reduction of a random interaction of two solid bodies through a system of shock absorbers to a much simpler model described by a system of differential equations of the deformation of shock absorbers. The problem is examined for different types of links at the point of interaction, which are characteristic for the process of shock absorption before and after linkage. Equations are presented which consider the inertia of the moving parts of the shock absorbers. The method which is presented is then used to analyze and design the shock absorption systems of two basic types of docking devices, “rod and cone” and peripheral devices. The effect of the mass and geometric characteristics of the docked spacecraft on the shock absorption process is examined. Different designs of shock absorption systems are analyzed, as well as typical cases of operation in different phases of docking and the corresponding equations which describe their behavior. The effect of individual parameters of the system on the process of shock absorption is shown, and specific recommendations are given for planning. The creation of docking devices required an improvement of known mechanisms and elements and the development of new ones. This includes several energy absorbing elements of the shock absorbers (Chapter 6). The central elements are the electromechanical dampers. The use of these dampers made it possible to avoid hydraulic mechanisms and to create a purely electromechanical docking device. The work of electromechanical dampers in heavy-duty shock absorbers, for which there is no precedent, has essential features. In shock absorption the brake rotor may accelerate in milliseconds to a speed of several thousand revolutions per minute. Care is needed in the choice of parameters of the brake and damper as a whole. Chapter 7 presents materials on the testing of docking devices and the Earthbased testing equipment. The most difficulty is presented by the replication on Earth of the movement and interaction of spacecraft in weightlessness. At present, dynamic test units are used which are based on purely mechanical models of the
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTU5NjU0Mg==