Thermally-induced bending-torsion coupling vibration of large scale space structures

Abstract

In this paper, a finite element scheme is developed to solve the problem of thermally-induced bending-torsion coupling vibration of large scale space structures, which are usually composed of thin-walled beams with open and closed cross-section. A two-noded finite element is proposed to analyze the transient temperature field over the longitudinal and circumferential direction of a beam. Since this temperature element can share the same mesh with the two-noded beam element of Euler–Bernoulli type, a unified finite element scheme is easily formulated to solve the thermal-structural coupling problem. This scheme is characterized with very strong nonlinear formulation, due to the consideration of the thermal radiation and the coupling effect between structural deformations and the incident normal heat flux. Moreover, because the warping is taken into account, not only the thermal axial force and thermal bending moments but also the thermal bi-moment are presented in the formulation. Consequently, the thermally-induced bending-torsion coupling vibration can be simulated. The performance of the proposed computational scheme is illustrated by the analysis of the well-known failure of Hubble space telescope solar arrays. The results reveal that the thermally-induced bending-torsion coupling vibration is obviously presented in that case and could be regarded as a cause of failure.