Slender solar sail booms: Finite element analysis

Various aspects related to the numerical (finite element) analysis of the support structure for solar sails are analyzed. Static analyses of single booms (simple beam and isogrid configurations) are presented and dynamic properties are extracted before and beyond the buckling load. Numerical difficulties associated with the case of buckling under nonconservative loading are also explored using as a reference example von Beck's problem, for which a closed-form solution for comparison is available. A study of the entire support structure for a square solar sail (four connected booms) is also presented. In all analyses, attention is focused on the prediction of the postbuckling (large deflection) behavior, including dynamics. Copyright © 2007 by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc. All rights reserved.

Duke Scholars

Author Lawrence N. Virgin Thomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materia ...