Comprehensive power analysis

Power is a system-level tool used to define the power architecture of a satellite. It supports the spacecraft design and analysis process by computing both the electrical and thermal behaviour of a schematically defined architecture. A schematic editor interface allows users to build the power architecture using various components such as solar array generators, batteries, and regulators, supporting accurate simulation.

A dedicated power solver computes the in-orbit electrical performance of the architecture, accounting for constraints due to the space environment (radiation, thermal, seasonal effects, …). The Power application transforms the electrical architecture model into a mathematical model, contributing to precise multi-physics space analysis.

A complete power analysis of a space system (orbiting around a planet or along an interplanetary trajectory) can be performed using the power solver integrated in Thermisol. Thermal computation results (external fluxes, thermal couplings, temperatures) are accessible via the Thermica application. Thus, to take into account these  thermal effects in spacecraft modelling, the Power application integrates the Thermica module.

PowerlinkGMM

Compute Thermal and Electrical Behaviour

Integrated solver

The Power application offers a complete solution to compute in-orbit electrical performance of an architecture. It enables users to create a geometrical model and define a mission, supporting the computation of external fluxes and radiative couplings, key to scenario specification.

Its coupled thermal power solver allows to perform complete analyses taking into account thermal aspects due to space environment and the possibility of linking the geometrical/thermal model and the electrical architecture via thermal node numbers. This integration enhances the realism and accuracy of power simulation under real mission conditions.

Build Electrical Architectures

Schematic editor

An interactive schematic editor enables to build electrical architectures for spacecraft modelling. It includes a set of generic components such as solar arrays, batteries, regulators, diodes, resistances, power loads, and capacitances.

This editor combines electrical, thermal, and logical components. Users can also program custom components and reuse them for future engineering analyses.

 

Power schematic editor

Complete Analysis Suite

Thermal & electrical

Power integrates all features of Thermica to enhance power analysis. It includes a radiative exchange factor computation module based on a multi-threaded ray-tracing algorithm.

Solar fluxes are calculated based on the sun’s position through an efficient ray-tracing algorithm. It also calculates infrared (IR) and albedo fluxes from planets or moons. These detailed calculations support accurate result visualisation and contribute to a complete engineering workflow.

For additional thermal analysis features, please refer to the Thermica page.

 

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