Modularized structure for the discretization of thermal deformation

For large space structures, the deformation of the structure due to thermal stress affects the attitude motion. In this paper, we propose a modularized structure which can release the thermal deformation locally. As an application, we study a space solar power system which is stabilized by gravity gradient torque. The purpose of this paper is to suppress overall deformation by the local release of thermal deformation. At first, we analyze thermal deformation of the structure and induced attitude motion under the condition where connecting rigidity between modules is as stiff as module itself. From the result, it is shown that roll and yaw motion becomes unstable due to the thermal deformation. Then, we modify the condition of the connection between modules to release thermal deformation locally. Through the simulation, it is confirmed that large deformation can be suppressed in the modified modularized structure, and thermally induced attitude motion becomes small enough for the mission.