Deployment dynamics of large-scale flexible solar arrays

In this paper, deployment dynamics of large-scale flexible solar arrays are investigated. The adopted solar array system is introduced first, including system configuration, the tension control mechanism (TCM), guy-wire and joint damper between sub-panels. Then kinematic description of a single flexible body and kinematic constraint equations of two bodies are deduced. Finally, dynamic equation of the solar array system is established by the Jourdain velocity variation principle. The validity of the dynamic model is verified through comparison with ADAMS software. The effects of guy-wire, TCM and joint damper on the system performance are studied in detail. Simulation results indicate that the proposed model is effective to describe the deployment dynamics of the large-scale flexible solar arrays, and that guy-wire, TCM and joint damper have marked influence on the dynamic behaviour of deployment of the solar array system.