Thermo-structural analysis of deployable composite booms with slotted hinges for space applications

Abstract

The constraints on size and geometry of launch vehicle payload volume and the necessity of large antennas, solar cells, instruments for field of view, and isolation lead to the research and production of deployable structures. They accomplish compact packing volume on the launch and a large deployable length in space once the satellite is ejected into orbit. Booms are cantilever arms that are deployable which project out of the satellite or any spacecraft main body to perform various tasks. Static and dynamic analysis of deployable composite boom with integral slotted hinges is carried out in the present work. A deployable composite boom prototype is manufactured using glass epoxy composite and experiments are carried out. A similar structure is modeled and analyzed in the software also. The results for deflection, stress, strain, natural frequency, etc. for such a structure are presented initially. The effect of stacking sequence and number of layers in the composite boom structure is also studied. Finally, the thermal effect on the static and dynamic behavior of deployable composite boom prototypes is also discussed.