Experimental and numerical studies on wrinkling control of an inflated beam using SMAwires

Abstract

A novel control strategy is proposed to control the wrinkling deflection and improve thebending performance of an inflated beam using shape memory alloy (SMA) wires. In thisstrategy, seven SMA wires are subtly attached to the stretched side which is opposite tothe wrinkled/compressed region of the inflated beam. These electrically drivenSMA wires generate the recovery force to remove the wrinkles and improve thebending performance of the inflated beam. An equivalent nodal force (ENF) methodincorporating direct perturb-force (DP) technology is proposed to simulate the wrinklingcontrol of the inflated beam. A photogrammetric method is used to measure thewrinkling and control results, which agree well with the numerical predictions. Theresults obtained in this paper are good references to the wrinkling control and theapplications of smart materials and structures in space membrane structures.