Kinematic Analysis of the Deployable Truss Structures for Space Applications

Abstract: Deployable structure technology has been used in aerospace and civil engineering structures very popularly. This paper reported on a recent development of numerical approaches for the kinematic analysis of the deployable truss structures. The dynamic equations of the constrained system and the computational procedures were summarized. The driving force vectors of the active cables considering the friction force were also formulated. Three types of macroele-ments used in deployable structures were described, including linear scissor-link element, multiangular scissor element, and rigi...