DESIGN AND ANALYSIS OF SELF RIGIDIZABLE SPACE MEMBRANE REFLECTOR

Abstract

As the demand for larger space structures increases, complications arise including physical dimensions, weight, and launch costs. These constraints have forced the space industry to look for smaller, more lightweight, and cost-effective solutions. Future antennas, solar sails, sun shields, and other structures have the potential to be exponentially larger than their launch envelopes. Current research in this area is focused on the use of inflatable, rigidizable structures to reduce payload size and mass, ultimately reducing launch costs. These structures can be used as booms, trusses, wings or can be configured to almost any simple shape. More complex shapes can be constructed by joining smaller rigidizable/inflatable members together. Analysis of these structures must be accomplished to validate the technology and gather risk mitigation data before they can be widely used in space applications.Noticeable advances have been achieved in several key technology areas, such as system concepts, analysis tools, material selection and characterization, and inflation deployment control. However, many challenges remain to be overcome before the inflatable structures can be actually incorporated into space flight systems. One of these challenges is the development of suitable in-space rigidization methods, and many researchers in the space inflatables community are currently working toward this goal. The concept and development of a new type of space inflatable/self-rigidizable structures, called the Kapton Aluminium laminate structures is described. Analysis and test results related to buckling capability, effects of stowage, modal characteristics, and dynamic responses of Kapton Aluminium laminate structures are presented and discussed here. The main aim of this thesis is to find the amount of force on which the Kapton Aluminium laminate membrane become rigid, and optimize the stiffness relation for the membrane which is consider as orthotropic Therefore, the main goal of this thesis is to achieve a better understanding of how to optimize the stiffness relations for an orthotropic laminated membrane with regard to global deflection. The examination is done with a parametric study where the different stiffnesses are altered and the global behavior of the beam-plate system is analysed. To be able to perform such a sensible parametric study the numbers of parameters have to be reduced. The analysis has been done in two parts: Analytical solution, and Experimental Validation. For analytical analysis, solution has been carried out using membrane theory. Formulae have been derived for different numbers of layers of the membrane and different thicknesses of the layers.