Dynamic modeling and analysis for inflatable mechanisms considering adhesion and rolling frictional contact

Abstract

A new modeling approach is proposed for dynamic analysis of inflatable mechanisms with large deformations, involving frictional contact and adhesion. Firstly, the Absolute Nodal Coordinate Formulation (ANCF) shell element is employed to model the flexible appendage. Then, by combining the master-slave and master-master techniques, a frictional contact formulation for the thin shell and the rigid cylinder is presented, which can capture the stick–slip transition and address both large sliding and rolling scenarios. In addition, a modified contact detection approach is proposed by optimizing the contact detection region to effectively avoid mutual over-penetration and improve detection efficiency. Furthermore, an adhesion element with failure mechanism is developed. Finally, a series of numerical examples are carried out to validate the proposed modeling approach. Together with the successful simulation against the resistance controlled deployment of an inflatable mechanism, the advantages of the proposed approach are demonstrated. Moreover, the most appropriate parameters for adhesion constitutive relationship are obtained to serve the adhesion-based controller design.