Session: 02-06: Applications of Advanced Materials in Aerospace Applications

Paper Number: 110423

110423 - Environmental Tests of a Parabolic Self-Deployable Tapespring Boom for CubeSat Applications 

Tape spring booms made from composite laminates have shown great potential in the field of morphing structures. This has led to their wide usage across various domains in aerospace engineering ranging from on-orbit deployment of spacecraft components to solar sails over the past decade. The aim of this present study is to investigate the effects of environmental conditions on the material properties of a self-deployable carbon fiber boom with a parabolic cross section. A similar boom will fly as the primary payload on Ut ProSat-1 (UPS-1), a 3U cubesat designed and manufactured by students at Virginia Tech. These booms exhibit bistability by virtue of their specific geometry and material properties and are therefore self-deployable. The primary mission of UPS-1 is to passively self-deploy the boom from its stowed state with the help of a novel deployer and then retract it using a stepper motor. This will be carried out repeatedly at different locations along the spacecraft's orbit. In addition to this, the boom has a flexible circuit near its tip. This circuit houses an inertial measurement unit (IMU) to measure the acceleration experienced by the boom during and at the end of each deployment sequence. A second IMU embedded on the payload control module near the root of the boom measures the vibration response at that location. The transfer function between these two IMUs will give both qualitative and quantitative information about the deployment shock perceived by the cubesat chassis. The on-orbit data will help validate the data obtained from the ground experiments described here. To simulate the space environment, the boom was deployed inside a Tenney environmental chamber. The thermal cycling was typical with hot and cold survival cycles going from -30°C to +60°C, followed by a series of operational cycles with dwell periods at each. This was done to resemble the orbit of UPS-1 and a constant vacuum of 1x10^-3Torr was maintained throughout the test. The effect of temperature on the deployment velocities and shocks has been presented here. The same tests were performed with the TVAC chamber door open and the differences were noted. Another avenue of interest was the effect of humidity on the mechanical properties of the specimen. It was expected that there would be some water condensation on the boom surface, especially at the lower temperatures and pressures. The results of moisture absorption into the composite matrix were investigated and their effect on the deployment dynamics of the boom was studied. These results will provide insight into the characterization of NASA's tape springs and aid in making informed decisions for future missions.

Presenting Author: Deven Mhadgut Virginia Tech

Presenting Author Biography: Deven is a PhD student at Virginia Tech working with Prof. Jonathan Black and Dr. Austin Phoenix. He has previously obtained an MS in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Colorado, Boulder. His current work involves study of experimental dynamic characterization of thin composite booms for space applications.