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What Comsol module would be best for modeling the force from solar radiation pressure on a solar sail?
Posted 22 set 2017, 15:48 GMT-4 Charged Particle Tracing, Ray Optics, Wave Optics Version 5.1 2 Replies
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The equation for the force from the reflection and absorption of photons from the sail on a flat square sail is:
The is the incident solar radiation direction,
is the normal vector from the sail,
is the diffuse reflection coefficient,
is the specular reflection coefficient,
is the absorption coefficient,
is the solar radiation pressure,
is the area of the sail. The
's come from the absorption of the solar radiation, and they are the surface emissivity, with the subscripts b and f referring to the back and front side of the sail. The
comes from the diffuse reflection of the solar radiation, and is the non-lambertian coefficient, with the subscripts b and f referring to the front and back side of the sail.
To start, I am just trying to find the force vectors on a flat square sail, but eventually I would also like to be able to calculate torque as well. I would also like to be able to use a non-flat sail and vary the angle of incidence.