Passive damped deployment of full composite structures

Abstract

A new material, currently used in non-spatial applications, with interesting properties has been identified: a flexible epoxy resin with lower stiffness and higher damping than the space used resins and that is miscible with these ones. Such a mixed material could be used in CFRP components which properties (stiffness and damping) could be customised. One possible application has been selected for this study: the deployment of full CFRP structures composed of thin-walled composite deployable booms with tape-spring hinges on them. These kind of passive springs have been shown to be very powerful, but they have also shown a hard dynamic behaviour that can produce damages to the deployed items or their hosting structure. The partial use of flexible epoxy resins in the CFRP hinges can introduce an efficient damping in the deployment and relief of this dynamic effect. The objective of this activity is to verify the feasibility of the use of a mixture of rigid and flexible epoxy resins for obtaining better dynamic performances of CFRP tape springs. The results of this study are very promising. They show that it is possible to customise the properties of some components by finding the adequate mixture of resins. However, additional studies are necessary to assess good performances in space environment. The validation of this material can open the door to new space applications where the proper combination of stiffness and damping is crucial.