The spindle running laws in the continuous braiding of multi-jointed tubular truss preforms

High-performance fiber-braided composite tubular truss structures have been widely used in satellites due to their advantages, such as lightweight and thermal stability. The continuous braiding of yarns in a multi-jointed truss preform is challenging because of the complexity of its joint structure. To realize the preform continuous braiding process with a constant number of yarns at the truss joints, a mathematical model for the spindle motion trajectory was developed by intermittently segmenting the spindle track. Based on the model, the relationship between the number of braiding spindles and the trajectory units in the segmented track, and the running laws of the spindles was analyzed. The results revealed that interference consistently existed between the spindles after segmenting the track based on the tubular braided track. A supplementary structural design method was proposed, based on the original track of the Maypole braiding equipment, which enables the spindles to run without interference in the segmented track. The research provides a theoretical foundation for designing the equipment used in the continuous processing of multi-joint truss tubular preforms.