Modeling and Analysis of Inter-Panel Slipping for the Design of Rolled Gossamer Arrays

Abstract Many deployable satellite systems benefit from having low mass and high surface area, which has led to the proliferation of gossamer structures in space-based applications. Gossamer structures are characterized by lightweight, low-stiffness membranes, which can flex and roll to compactly stow. An effect of rolling a gossamer structure is that there is a tangential separation along adjacent panels as they roll, resulting in relative motion between panels. To aid designers in predicting and accommodating this motion, a method for modeling the slippage between adjacent panels that occurs while rolling is presented. This analytical slippage model and algorithm is a function of (1) the number of panels, (2) the thickness of each panel, (3) the length of each panel, and (4) the minimum bend radius of the material. It is shown that the thickness and length have a positive correlation with increased slippage, whereas the number of panels and minimum bend radius have a negative correlation with increased slippage. This model allows designers to predict both the magnitude of slippage that occurs where panels meet, as well as the relative range of slippage that occurs within the whole pattern. With these predictions, an appropriate strategy can be selected for accommodating this motion.