Deployment Simulation of Foldable Membranes Using Absolute Nodal Coordinate Formulation and Validation

It has become a trend to use foldable membranes to construct large spacecraft structures such as solar sails, antennas, and drag sails with the advantages of being lightweight and having high packing efficiency. To enhance the existing numerical simulation of membrane deployment, the nonlinear behavior of the crease is finely described based on experiments and integrated into the numerical model via the principle of virtual work. Specifically, a foldable membrane is modeled as a multibody system (MBS) based on the absolute nodal coordinate formulation (ANCF), where the flexible facet is meshed with both ANCF triangular and quadrilateral thin shell elements and the crease is treated as a virtual torsional spring with special constraints along the fold line. The MBS modeling method is validated via the deployment experiment of a Z-folding membrane. The deployment of a four-unit Miura-ori membrane is further analyzed to show the capability of the approach in modeling foldable membranes with complicated configurations. Good agreement is obtained on the membrane-deformed configurations between the simulation and experiment. Additionally, the driving force at the corners is obtained. This research is expected to provide a more accurate simulation to facilitate the design and optimization of the space deployable membrane structure.