Abstract
The solid mechanics problem on the packaging and subsequent pneumatic deployment of large-sized shells is relevant due to the need to operate such structures in hard-to-reach places. In particular, such a place is outer space. The paper considers the elastic cylindrical shell deployment from a packed state by internal pressure in a finite time interval. The packaged shell consists of two rectangular plates joined by ideal (with no bending resistance) joint-hinges arranged at the edges. Both static and dynamic problems are considered. Solutions are obtained on the basis of a geometrically nonlinear model of an elastic body using the ANSYS engineering package. It is shown that the pneumatic loading of an elastic structure is accompanied by its oscillations with increasing frequency and the amplitude decreasing in time. The period of shell oscillations is found to be dependent on the operating loading pressure and independent of the pressure supply rate, and it almost equals the period of oscillations of the statically loaded shell under the same pressure. The wide range variation in the natural oscillation frequencies of the structure during pneumatic deployment, which is revealed in the study, is of great importance since it makes possible to predict resonant modes accompanying the process. The results of the study will be used in problems of mechanics related to the pneumatic deployment of shell structures (for example, telescope reflectors, antennas, etc.) in space.
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