Evaluation of optical properties of advanced reflectivity control device for solar sail by numerical simulation

Abstract

The authors are currently developing a novel attitude control device for solar sails. The device is called Advanced Reflectivity-Control-Device (A-RCD) which can change the optical properties between diffuse reflection and obliquereflection. This device is mounted on the solar sail's membrane and can control the torque perpendicular to the membrane. The A-RCD is composed of microstructured film and polymer dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC), and these structures cause the strong diffraction when the light propagates in the device. Simulating such light propagation is indispensable to evaluate the performance by using computer calculations, which is inevitable if one tries to achieve the optimum design via parametric studies. Besides, the ability to simulate the light propagation in the A-RCD will give designers new insights into the A-RCD design. In this context, we will introduce the simulation method for the A-RCD in this paper. Show more