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Influence of thin-film device with curvature on natural frequency of rectangle membrane under uniaxial tension

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A Correction to this article was published on 11 February 2022

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Abstract

A solar power sail demonstrator “IKAROS” demonstrated solar sailing technology in 2010. The membrane of the spinning solar sail IKAROS is estimated to be deformed toward the Sun. The deformation was kept even under low spin-rate. Previous studies suggest that curvature of thin-film solar cells on the membrane increases the out-of-plane stiffness by finite element analysis. Shape, out-of-plane stiffness, and natural frequency of membranes have to be predicted for solar sails with thin-film devices, such as thin-film solar cells, dust counters, and reflectivity control devices in order to reduce the margins of sail size and propellant mass against disturbance solar pressure torque acting on the membrane. In this paper, the effect of a curved thin-film device on the natural frequency of a rectangle membrane under uniaxial tension was investigated. Three types of membranes were evaluated: a membrane with a curved thin-film device, a membrane with a flat thin-film device, and a plane membrane. Geometric nonlinear finite element analysis and eigenvalue analysis were conducted to investigate the natural frequencies under varying tension. The simulations were verified by vibration experiments. It was found that under low tension, the natural frequency of the membrane with the curved thin-film device is significantly higher than that of the others and that under high tension, the natural frequency of the membrane with the thin-film device is slightly lower than that of the plane membrane. In addition, parametric analysis on the curvature of the thin-film device shows that natural frequency at low tension is sensitive to the curvature. The eigenvalue analysis of a whole solar sail with the curved thin-film devices also suggests that the curvature remarkably affects the vibration modes. In conclusion, curved thin-film devices have a significant impact on the out-of-plane stiffness of a membrane under low tension.

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Abbreviations

f :

natural frequency (Hz)

f i :

natural frequency of mode number i (Hz)

i :

mode number

k :

spring constant (N/m)

l :

length (m)

m :

mass (kg)

A :

area (m2)

E :

Young’s modulus (Pa)

F :

tension (N)

I :

second moment of area (m4)

M :

moment of force (N·m)

R :

curvature radius (mm)

ρ :

density (g/cm3)

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number 17H01349 and the ISAS/JAXA solar power sail preparation team.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara, 252-5210, Japan

    Masanori Matsushita, Nobukatsu Okuizumi, Yasutaka Satou & Osamu Mori

  2. Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Tottori University, Tottori, 680-8552, Japan

    Takashi Iwasa

  3. Department of Mechanical Engineering, School of Engineering, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, 152-8552, Japan

    Saburo Matunaga

Authors
  1. Masanori Matsushita
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  2. Nobukatsu Okuizumi
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  3. Yasutaka Satou
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  4. Osamu Mori
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  5. Takashi Iwasa
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  6. Saburo Matunaga
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Masanori Matsushita.

Additional information

Masanori Matsushita is a research and development staff in the ISAS/JAXA. He works on the OKEANOS solar power sail and is mainly in charge of the sail membrane structure. He received his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees of engineering from Tokyo Institute of Technology, in 2014 and 2018, respectively. He joined the TSUBAME micro-satellite mission, which was launched in 2014, and contributed to research and development of electrical power system from 2009 to 2014. His research interests are space membrane structures, electrical power systems, CubeSats, and micro-satellites.

Nobukatsu Okuizumi received his bachelor, master, and Ph.D. degrees in mechanical engineering from Tokyo Institute of Technology in 1989, 1991, and 1998, respectively. He is an assistant professor at the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. His research interests include lightweight deployable structures, spacecraft structures, and nonlinear dynamics of mechanical and structural systems. He has also been engaged in the development of various scientific spacecrafts such as Akatsuki, IKAROS, Hayausa2, etc.

Yasutaka Satou received his doctor degree in engineering from Department of Built Environment, Tokyo Institute of Technology, in 2012. Currently, he is an assistant professor in Department of Space Flight Systems, ISAS/JAXA.

Osamu Mori received his Ph.D. degree in engineering from Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan, in 2002. He is currently an assistant professor at Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. His research includes spacecraft systems, multibody dynamics, guidance, navigation and control. He is a project manager of the IKAROS mission and a core member of the OKEANOS mission.

Takashi Iwasa is an associate professor at the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering in Tottori University. He received his B.E degree in structure engineering from Nagasaki University, M.E. degree in civil engineering from University of Tokyo, and doctor degree in engineering in aeronautics and astronautics engineering from University of Tokyo. His current research interests include gossamer space structure, precise-large space structure, structural mechanics, finite element analysis, and photogrammetric measurement.

Saburo Matunaga is a professor at the Department of Mechanical Engineering in Tokyo Institute of Technology. He received his B.E degree in aerospace engineering from Nagoya University, M.E. and doctor degrees in engineering in astronautics from the University of Tokyo. His current research interests include nano/microsatellite development, launch and operation, and advanced space systems engineering.

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Matsushita, M., Okuizumi, N., Satou, Y. et al. Influence of thin-film device with curvature on natural frequency of rectangle membrane under uniaxial tension. Astrodyn 3, 257–272 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42064-019-0056-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42064-019-0056-y

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