Investigation of joint clearances in a large-scale flexible solar array system

Abstract

This paper is concerned with the effect of joint clearances in a large-scale flexible solar array system. The adopted solar array system is introduced and dynamics equation of the solar array system is presented by the Jourdain velocity variation principle firstly. Then detection of clearance contact and calculation of contact force are discussed. And finally the effect of joint clearances on the solar array system is studied in detail during the deployment process. Simulation results indicate that joint clearances will affect dynamic behaviors of the deployable mast, the container and the sub-panels in the solar array system. Furthermore, the presented method and simulation result have innovation and reference value for future researches.