Abstract
The objective of this research is to forecast the impact of alternating non-uniform temperature distributions on the deformation and internal stress within the thin film of a solar photon sail, as well as to assess how stress variations affect the sail’s characteristics. To maintain the internal stress amplitude within the film during extreme temperature fluctuations, the solar sail employs an innovative pre-tensioning technique utilizing shape memory alloy (SMA) springs. A thermal-structural model is formulated specifically for a hexagonal solar sail. Subsequently, thermal-structural analyses are conducted to quantify deformations and stresses within the sail during its operation on the Earth-Moon L1 halo orbit. Incorporating the prestress factor, the out-of-plane deflection of the film under solar pressure is computed. Furthermore, prestressed modal analyses are performed to determine mode shapes and natural frequencies, taking into account both the prestress and the solar pressure acting on the film. Finally, numerical results are used to compare the performance of the solar sail in hot and cold environments.
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