Experimental Verification of Sobol Sensitivity Indices in a Space Latching Mechanism

Abstract

Abstract Effectively and efficiently designing latching mechanisms is important for meeting precise design requirements of these mechanisms. This paper attempts to verify the use of a particular sensitivity measure, Sobol indices, to design latching mechanisms more systematically by applying it to a space mechanism. The latch studied was adapted from the Schmidt latch and was to be finely adjustable to test for the effects of small changes in the latch design. A simulation of the latch system yielded a set of Sobol indices which were compared to experimental results. The results were inconclusive due to larger than anticipated error when measuring the potential energy of the torsion springs in the latch, which made the effects of small design changes indistinguishable from noise in the system.