Peculiarities of Simulation of Unfolding a Transformable Frame-Type Structure

The problem of creating the special-purpose mounted systems with overall dimensions exceeding the spacecraft size is reduced to development of folding structures. These structures are mostly frames and they are composed of hundreds and even thousands of interconnected elements. Although great success is achieved in development of such structures, the problem of their smooth and reliable deployment for ensuring their further operation is actual so far. To solve the problem, on the basis of the EULER software package, some models are developed and dynamics of deployment of flat and parabolic frames is numerically analyzed. The performed calculations show that to determine initial values ofgeneralized coordinates for a non-flat frame structure being in the folded transport state, it is necessary to assume that centers of the nodal hinge elements are on the parabolic (spherical, cylindrical, etc.) surface corresponding to the deployed working state of the structure.

References

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