Dynamics Modeling and Analysis of Rotating Trapezoidal Flexible Plate System with Large Deformation

Origami-derived space-deployable structures have a broad application prospect in the aerospace field owing to their excellent morphology transformation performance, and they are usually large-scale and lightweight. However, their deformation increases greatly under high-speed and extreme-temperature conditions, which affects their motion and performance and possibly causes losses. So, it is crucial to perform a dynamic analysis considering key factors for the large deformation of flexible structures. In this paper, the Nodal Coordinate-based Floating Frame of Reference (NCFFR) formulation is used to build a rigid–flexible coupling dynamic model of the rotating trapezoidal flexible plate with a Miura angle. NCFFR can not only accurately describe the large deformation of flexible structures but also decouple the overall motion and flexible deformation motion naturally, and it has a potential application in vibration control and large deformation problems for flexible systems. Finally, the key structural parameters (such as Miura angle, trapezoidal plate height, and trapezoidal plate length) are adopted to analyze the dynamic characteristics of the flexible plate system. The simulations reveal that the Miura angle significantly affects the dynamic characteristics of the trapezoidal flexible plate system. The complex “loci veering” phenomenon is captured, with mode shifts between different modal frequencies. As the Miura angle increases, the peak acceleration when the Miura angle is 95° is notably larger than the others, and when the flexible plate is in the stage of uniform rotation, the peak velocity at which the Miura angle is 80° is significantly greater than that of 85° and 75°. The structural parameters (bottom length, height, thickness) have diverse influences on the modal characteristics of the trapezoidal flexible plate.