Deployment analysis and design of large deployable antenna structures constructed from tetrahedral truss units
- Paper number
IAC-06-C2.2.11
- Author
Dr. Mengliang Zhao, Zhejiang University, China
- Coauthor
Prof. Fuling Guan, Zhejiang University, China
- Year
2006
- Abstract
Large deployable space antenna structures constructed from tetrahedral truss units attracts more and more attention in astronautics for its small package volume, high stiffness and flexible configuration. This paper develops a tetrahedral truss modular large deployable antenna structure driven by torsional springs. In order to provide reference for torsional springs’ stiffness design and ensure reliable deployment of the antenna, deployment analysis of the structure is essential. In recent years, many researches have been carried out in the field of deployment analysis for deployable truss structures. However, especially for complex tetrahedral truss modular large deployable antenna structures with torsional springs driven, there are few attempts. This paper proposes an effective method of numerical simulation for treating deployment analysis of the structure. The deployable mechanism of each tetrahedral unit is analyzed. To a tetrahedral truss modular large deployable antenna structure driven by torsional springs, a new mathematic algorithm is developed to formulate the kinetic constraint equations and relevant Jacobian matrices, and the variable driving moment of torsional springs are expressed in Cartesian coordinates. Deployment dynamic equations of the structure are formulated using dependent Cartesian coordinates of idealized truss joints as variables. By integrating the constraint equations into the deployment dynamic equations, a group of revised dynamic equations with no coefficients is formulated. The number of these equations is the same as the number of the structure’s unconstrained degrees of freedom. To different structural design, the corresponding coordinates, velocity, acceleration and other dynamic characteristics during deployment can be integrated by using standard ordinary differential equation solvers. By using the results of deployment analysis, we manufacture a prototype antenna module and carried out a deployment test on it. The validity of the deployment analysis methods are verified from the programmed simulations and experiments. The design procedure of the deployable antenna and the effect of the torsional springs’ stiffness on the structure deployment are discussed.
- Abstract document