Experiments and Simulations of the Deployment of a Bistable Composite Boom

The rapidly growing use of small satellites for space missions requires deployable systems to be highly storable yet large and with adequate mechanical properties when deployed. This paper focuses on the modeling and simulation of a meter-class passively deployable boom, based on the self-contained linear meter-class deployable boom, exploiting the bistable nature of composite shells. Experimental tests were performed on a boom prototype suspended in a gravity offloading system. The strain energy level, deployment time, and spacecraft displacements calculated from the finite element method agree well with analytical analyses, confirming the theoretical accuracy of the finite element method. Because friction and strain energy relaxation were not included in the model, the finite element simulations predicted deployment times up to five times shorter than those of the gravity offloaded boom experiments. The quick deployment and violent end-of-deployment shock created boom deployment dynamics that were not seen in the experiments. The observed differences between the finite element model and the tests were mainly due to inaccurate material and friction models.