A new rod model for the folding and deployment of tape springs with highly deformable cross-sections

Elia Picault (1) , Stéphane Bourgeois (1) , Bruno Cochelin (1) , François Guinot (2) , Christian Hochard (1)

1 M&S - Matériaux et Structures
2 TAS - Thales Alenia Space [Toulouse]

This work is focused on the modeling of rod-like elastic bodies with thin-walled curved cross-sections such as tape springs, which develop localized folds due to a flattening of the cross-section. Starting from a complete nonlinear elastic shell model, a rod model with highly deformable cross-section is derived for large displacements, large rotations and dynamics, by introducing an elastica kinematics to describe the in-plane changes of the cross-section shape. This model is able to handle the formation of localized folds which can move along the rod line, merge or split, allowing simulation of complex scenarios of coiling, folding and deployment.

Mots clés: rod; tape spring; fold; dynamics

Domaines: Mécanique [physics.med-ph]

Elia Picault, Stéphane Bourgeois, Bruno Cochelin, François Guinot, Christian Hochard. A new rod model for the folding and deployment of tape springs with highly deformable cross-sections. 7th International Conference on Computational Mechanics for Spatial Structures, Apr 2012, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. pp.2.83. ⟨hal-00921917⟩