An ultra-compact mechanical interface universal design for orbital replacement unit.

Facing the future development needs of standardization, intelligence, and serviceability in space equipment, the orbital replaceable unit (ORU) standard interface has attracted much attention from researchers. As the main structure of the standard interface, the mechanical interface (MI) not only needs to reserve space for other functional interfaces such as electrical, thermal, fluid, and data on its contact surface, but also needs to reserve sufficient internal space to complete functional expansion. In contrast to previous studies, this paper starts from the perspective of interface internal space utilization and proposes a cost-effectiveness prioritized design strategy and process. Combining operations research ideas, the interface design is transformed into multiple linear/nonlinear programming problems, ultimately improving the structural indicators of the MI. Subsequently, Recurdyn and Workbench were used for dynamics analysis of the docking state of the mechanical interface and for static analysis of the interface after locked, respectively. Finally, the future trends and development of MI are outlined. • A cost-effectiveness prioritized design strategy to maximize the mechanical interface universality. • A linear programming method to guide the design and gear selection of the mechanical interface transmission device. • A two-stage planning method for solving the 4-bar linkage design problem under complex and nonlinear constraints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]