Experimental and Numerical Analysis of a DECSMAR Structure's Deployment and Deployed Performance
Abstract
The objective of this research is to analyze the deployment and deployed performance of a recently developed, self-deployable truss architecture composed of carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) tape-spring elements and embedded shape memory alloy (SMA) flexures; this particular structural system is referred to as deployable elastic composite shape memory alloy reinforced (DECSMAR) and is representative of a concentrated, material deformation based deployable architecture. The scope of this study encompasses numerically and experimentally mapping the force profile through the deployment path of a 450 mm radius DECSMAR boom and then to numerically determine the effective continuum, deployed stiffness and strength properties, i.e., bending, shear, torsion, and axial moduli with corresponding critical loads, correlated to experimental analysis, of an equivalent radius, five-bay DECSMAR boom. Minimum deployment force to linear mass and bending modulus to linear mass ratios were measured at 2.79 Nmkg-1 and 2.38 MNm3kg-1, respectively. Of particular interest were deleterious effects of the deployment sequencer on the force profile, the deployed performance attributable to the SMA flexure features, and consequences of flattening longeron ends to buy packaging efficiency. Developmental aspects of the DECSMAR architecture, including the design space of the individual CFRP tape-spring element, an exercise for a point design of a 180 mm radius DECSMAR boom with correlation to experimental analysis, and performance implications of scaling the truss radius, are focused on in a prequel manuscript.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 01, 2007
- Accession Number
- ADA476284
Entities
People
- Eric L. Pollard
- Gregory E. Sanford
- Thomas W. Murphey