Abstract Multifunctional membrane space structures have been developed in the past to realize solar arrays, array antennas, and other applications. However, the deployment of a folded membrane often requires fluctuating forces with high peaks, caused by the stiffness of the crease lines. This study proposes the use of a plain-woven textile as the base membrane for the planar deployment structures primarily because of its high packaging efficiency. The deployment forces required for the folded plain-woven textile structures to be employed in future space applications are experimentally measured. The deployment forces are compared between the proposed textile structures and the conventional film-based membranes to characterize the deployment behavior of the textile structures. Two types of experiments are conducted in this study for the one-dimensional deployment of v-folded membranes and the two-dimensional deployment of quarter Flasher origami structures, respectively. The advantages presented by the deployable textiles are as follows: (i) they require smaller and smoother deployment forces, and (ii) they are insensitive to imperfect boundary conditions. These features are important for the reliable deployment of future space structures.
Highlights Membrane structures will be compactly stored and deployed more smoothly when woven textile is used. The attachment of thin-film devices on the textile will enable innovative space applications. The forces for one-dimensional and two-dimensional deployment were experimentally measured. Comparison of deployment forces between polymer film and textile clarified unique characteristics. Extremely low shear stiffness of the plain-woven textile results in smaller deployment force and smoother deployment.
Deployment behavior of planar gossamer space structures made of plain-woven textile
Acta Astronautica ; 190 ; 334-341
2021-09-24
8 pages
Aufsatz (Zeitschrift)
Elektronische Ressource
Englisch
Gossamer space structures panel
IEEE | 2003
|14.0301 Gossamer Space Structures Panel
British Library Conference Proceedings | 2003
|Gossamer-1: Mission concept and technology for a controlled deployment of gossamer spacecraft
Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR) | 2016
|Gossamer-1: Mission Concept and Technology for a Controlled Deployment of Gossamer Spacecraft
Online Contents | 2016
|