Improvement of Passive Vibration Damping of Satellite Solar Array Using Adaptive Boundary Conditions

Abstract

Satellite solar array structures experience several loads during deployment and in orbit operations. Such loads cause vibrations and can lead to premature failure or improper service operation, hence, solar arrays must be designed to attenuate these vibrations. In addition, solar arrays must be as light weight as possible, which renders their design process as a fairly complicated one. An innovative approach is presented in this paper for improving the passive vibration damping of solar arrays by using adaptive boundary conditions. A case study of a solar array is investigated where experimental testing and finite element technique are efficiently integrated. In addition, a new theoretical technique is developed to predict first and second vibration modes of the solar array. The results are used to study the effects of boundary conditions on the vibration response of the solar array. They clearly show that by only changing the way the solar array is fixed, vibration damping is successfully improved.

Position Optimization of Passive Patch Based on Mode Contribution Factor for Vibration Attenuation of Asymmetric 1D Structure

“…In this case, as the stifness matrix has a frequency dependent characteristic, the eigenvalue converges through iterative calculation. In equation (24), λ * k represents the complex eigenvalue. Te natural frequency and loss coefcient can be defned from the complex eigenvalue λ * k .…”

“…where F represents the magnitude of the disturbance for each mode. Tis is nonconservative and is added to the right side of the equation of motion in equation (24). At this point, by calculating the weight vector q, the displacement of the beam can be calculated, and the displacement of the remaining layers is also determined.…”

“…El Hafdi et al optimized patch location and improved algorithm convergence through genetic algorithms and Latin Hypercube Sampling (LHS) algorithms [23]. Askar et al used a genetic algorithm to optimize the position of the circular aluminium patch [24]. Te literature review indicates that various algorithms have been used to optimize the position of the passive patch.…”