Skip to main content
Chinese Journal of Mechanical Engineering
Download PDF
  • Published:

Design and test analysis of a solar array root hinge drive assembly

Chinese Journal of Mechanical Engineering volume 27, pages 909–918 (2014)Cite this article

Abstract

A root hinge drive assembly is preferred in place of the classical viscous damper in a large solar array system. It has advantages including better deployment control and higher reliability. But the traditional single degree of freedom model should be improved. A multiple degrees of freedom dynamics model is presented for the solar arrays deployment to guide the drive assembly design. The established model includes the functions of the torsion springs, the synchronization mechanism and the lock-up impact. A numerical computation method is proposed to solve the dynamics coupling problem. Then considering the drive torque requirement calculated by the proposed model, a root hinge drive assembly is developed based on the reliability engineering design methods, and dual actuators are used as a redundancy design. Pseudo-efficiency is introduced and the major factors influencing the (pseudo-) efficiency of the gear mechanism designed with high reduction ratio are studied for further test data analysis. A ground prototype deployment test is conducted to verify the capacity of the drive assembly. The test device consists of a large-area solar array system and a root hinge drive assembly. The RHDA development time is about 43 s. The theoretical drive torque is compared with the test values which are obtained according to the current data and the reduction efficiency analysis, and the results show that the presented model and the calibration methods are proper enough.

References

  1. RENSHALL J T, MARKS G. W. The astroEdge* solar array for the NASA small spacecraft technology initiative “Clark” satellite[C]// Conference Record of the 25th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, Washington, D.C., USA, May 13–17, 1996: 271–276.

    Google Scholar 

  2. ZUCKERMANDEL J W, ENGER S, GUPTA N. Design, build, and testing of TacSat thin film solar arrays[C]//4th International Energy Conversion Engineering Conference and Exhibit, San Diego, USA, June 26–29, AIAA Paper, 2006-4198, 2006.

    Google Scholar 

  3. JONES P A, SPENCE B R. Spacecraft solar array technology trends[C]//Aerospace Conference Proceedings, 1998 IEEE, Aspen, USA, Mar 21–28, 1998: 141–152.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  4. REN Shouzhi, LIU Liping. Influence of the zero-gravity test facility on the solar array’s deployment test[J]. Spacecraft Engineering, 2008, 17(6): 73–78. (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  5. MALY J R, PENDLETON S C, SALMANOFF J, et al. Hubble space telescope solar array damper[C]//Smart Structures and Materials 1999: Passive Damping and Isolation, Newport Beach, USA, March, 1999: 186–197.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  6. CHENG W L, HILL S, BETENBAUGH T M. Solar array and high gain antenna deployment mechanisms of the STEREO observatory[C]//AIAA Space 2007 Conference & Exposition, Long Beach, CA, USA, AIAA Paper, 2007-6096, 2007.

    Google Scholar 

  7. CHO M, NOZAKI Y. Number of arcs estimated on solar array of a geostationary Satellite[J]. Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets, 2005, 42(4): 740–748.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. PANKOP C A, ALRED J W, BOEDER P A. Mitigation of thruster plume erosion of international space station solar array coatings[J]. Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets, 2006, 43(3): 545–550.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. ESPINOSA N, HOSEL M, JORGENSEN M, et al. Large scale deployment of polymer solar cells on land, on sea and in the air[J]. Energy & Environmental Science, 2014, 7: 855–866.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. HWANG E. Seven-panel solar wing deployment and on-orbit maneuvering analyses[C]//Proc. SPIE, Modeling, Simulation, and Verification of Space-based Systems II, Bellingham, WA, USA, June, 2005: 48–55.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  11. PORRO J R S, FENILI A. A study about deployment of a solar array on a satellite using DC motors[C]//17th International Congress of Mechanical Engineering, Sao Paulo, SP, November, 2003.

    Google Scholar 

  12. LI J L, YAN S Z, GUO F, et al. Effects of damping, friction, gravity, and flexibility on the dynamic performance of a deployable mechanism with clearance[J]. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part C: Journal of Mechanical Engineering Science, 2013, 227: 1971–1803.

    Google Scholar 

  13. BAI Z F, ZHAO Y. Attitude motion of spacecraft during oblique solar panel deployment[J]. Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, 2012, 84(2): 109–114.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. KWAK M K, HEO S, KIM H B. Dynamics of satellite with deployable rigid solar arrays[J]. Multibody Syst Dyn, 2008, 20: 271–286.

    Article  MATH  Google Scholar 

  15. SEEGERS B J, GUTHRIE B C, FONTANA R R. Puffin redundant electric propulsion powertrain system[C]//10th AIAA Aviation Technology, Integration, and Operations Conference, Fort Worth, TX, USA, AIAA Paper, 2010-9383, 2010.

    Google Scholar 

  16. DING X L, LI X, XU K, et al. Study on the behavior of solar arrays deployment with root hinge drive assembly[J]. Chinese Journal of Aeronautics, 2012, 25(2): 276–284.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. FIORE J, KRAMER R, LARKIN P, et al. Mechanical design and verification of the TOPEX/Poseidon deployment solar array[C]// AIAA/ASME/ASCE/AHS/ASC Structures Structural Dynamics, and Materials Conference, 35th, Hilton Head, SC, USA, AIAA Paper, 94-1323-CP, 1994.

    Google Scholar 

  18. KUMAR P, PELLEGRINO S. Deployment and retraction of cable-driven rigid solar array[J]. Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets, 1996, 33(6): 836–842.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. CRAIG J J. Introduction to robotics: mechanics and control[M]. 3rd ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2005.

    Google Scholar 

  20. SHIGEHARA M, SHIGEDOMI Y. Multi-body model approach to obtain construction criteria for a large space structure[J]. Acta Astronautica, 1997, 41(4–10): 391–400.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. ZHOU Zhengfa. Aerospace reliability engineering[M]. Beijing: China Aerospace Press, 2006. (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  22. CASTILLO J M. The analytical expression of the efficiency of planetary gear trains[J]. Mechanism and Machine Theory, 2002, 37(2): 197–214.

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  23. ZHU Xiaolu. China mechanical design canon[M]. Vol. 4. Nanchang: Jiangxi Science & Technology Press, 2004: 617–620. (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Robotics Institute, Beihang University, Beijing, 100191, China

    Xilun Ding & Xin Li

Authors
  1. Xilun Ding
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Xin Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Xin Li.

Additional information

Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos. 51125020, 51105013), and the Innovation Foundation of Beihang University for PhD Graduates

DING Xilun, born in 1967, is current a professor at School of Mechanical Engineering and Automation, Beihang University, China. His research interests include dynamics of compliant mechanisms and robots, design theory of reconfigurable robots, cooperative control of dual redundant manipulators with multifingered hand systems, and space robotics.

LI Xin, born in 1986, is currently a PhD candidate at School of Mechanical Engineering and Automation, Beihang University, China. His research interests include space mechanism and redundant drive mechanism.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Ding, X., Li, X. Design and test analysis of a solar array root hinge drive assembly. Chin. J. Mech. Eng. 27, 909–918 (2014). https://doi.org/10.3901/CJME.2014.0528.103

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.3901/CJME.2014.0528.103

Keywords