Elastic Memory Composite Material: An Enabling Technology for Future Furlable Space Structures

Abstract

Furlable structures are a class of deployable structures that utilize distributed material strain as a means for compact packaging. Elastic Memory Composite (EMC) materials are ideally suited for furlable structures because they offer high strength, stiffness, and strain capacity for efficient packaging and deployed structural performance. EMC components are packaged in their soft-resin state, which enables higher packaging strains than traditional hard-resin composites. For example, packaging strains on the order of 2-5% are commonly achieved in carbon-fiber-reinforced EMC materials whereas non-EMC, carbon-fiber composites are limited to less than 1% strain. The present paper summarizes two recent advancements in the state-of-the-art of EMC materials: 1) improvments to the design of EMC longerons, key structural elements in furlable truss booms, and 2) advancements in analytical models for EMC material behavior through the use of a Multicontinuum Theory. Preliminary results are presented that illustrate the significant potential for these advancements to further improve the performance and capability of furlable EMC space structures.