This study was motivated by the desire to develop accurate simulation models for the deployment dynamics of future, ultralight deployable structures consisting of multiple thin shells packaged elastically, through a combination of folding and coiling. The specific problem studied is the packaging and unconstrained deployment of a rectangular space frame formed by two thin-shell longerons connected by multiple transverse rods, and called a strip. The study included experiments on high-quality test articles, using a suspension system with low inertia and friction. The elastic folds in the strips were tracked with high-speed three-dimensional digital image correlation for deployment in both air and near-vacuum. The study also developed a high-fidelity finite element model of the strips that captures the elastic, localized deformation that occurs during the initial folding, the self-contact between different parts of the structure as the folding develops, and the strain energy stored during the folding process. This model accurately captured the deployment dynamics and self-latching of the strips, as well as the effects of air on deployment.
Deployment Dynamics of Thin-Shell Space Structures
Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets ; 59 , 4 ; 1214-1227
2022-01-31
14 pages
Aufsatz (Zeitschrift)
Elektronische Ressource
Englisch
DEPLOYMENT DYNAMICS OF FOLDABLE THIN SHELL SPACE STRUCTURES
TIBKAT | 2021
|Deployment dynamics of space structures
Tema Archiv | 1987
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