NOVITAS · Nonlinear analysis for virtual design of composite deployable space booms and membranes

Nonlinear analysis for virtual design of composite deployable space booms and membranes

NOVITAS addressed the need for accurate, efficient and physically reliable numerical tools for the virtual design of ultra-thin deployable composite space structures, with particular focus on deployable booms, TRAC longerons, membranes and foldable structural assemblies. These systems are increasingly relevant in space engineering because they allow large functional surfaces, such as antennas, telescopes, solar arrays and membrane-supported platforms, to be compactly stowed during launch and reliably deployed in orbit. The project was motivated by the fact that future space missions require larger, lighter and more efficient structures, while launch volume and mass constraints remain severe. Deployable composite booms and membranes are therefore key enabling technologies for advanced space systems, but their design remains challenging because they operate in regimes dominated by large rotations, large displacements, local buckling, contact, cross-sectional deformation, composite anisotropy and dynamic effects. The original NOVITAS project summary explicitly identified these issues as central open challenges, including the need for mathematical models able to describe multiscale three-dimensional stress states, failure identification, material effects and deployment simulations. The overall objective of the project was to advance the mathematical and computational modelling of thin and ultra-thin deployable composite structures, with the final goal of supporting their virtual design. The project pathway to impact was based on the development of modelling approaches able to reduce the computational burden of conventional two-dimensional shell or three-dimensional solid finite element models, while retaining the ability to describe local effects that are essential for structural reliability. In particular, the project focused on the simulation of the complete life cycle of deployable structures, from folding and stowage to deployment-related phenomena and dynamic behaviour. This required the development and validation of nonlinear numerical models capable of representing both global kinematics and local structural mechanisms, such as cross-sectional distortion, flange contact, local buckling, stiffness degradation and vibration attenuation. The scientific motivation was also connected to the limitations of standard finite element approaches. Conventional shell and solid models are powerful but often require very fine meshes to capture the behaviour of ultra-thin composite longerons, especially when high aspect ratios, contact nonlinearities and local instabilities are involved. This leads to high computational costs, making extensive parametric design, optimization and uncertainty studies difficult. NOVITAS therefore aimed to provide a modelling framework that could preserve high-fidelity structural descriptions while making analyses more computationally efficient and suitable for engineering design loops. The expected impact of the project is significant at both scientific and technological levels. Scientifically, NOVITAS contributes to the understanding and simulation of nonlinear behaviour in slender composite deployable structures, including folding, local buckling, contact and dynamic response. Technologically, the project supports the design of lighter, more compact and more reliable deployable space structures. The results may help reduce the number of expensive experimental campaigns, accelerate design iterations and provide engineers with virtual testing tools for complex space structures. This is consistent with the project’s original impact pathway, which identified the development of efficient modelling techniques as a contribution to space-based technological innovation and to a sustainable European economy. The project was implemented through an interdisciplinary pathway combining theoretical modelling, numerical simulation and experimental validation. The DoA structured the action around management and training, dissemination, theoretical modelling of dynamic behaviours, experimental testing and numerical simulations. The technical core of the project was represented by WP3, WP4 and WP5, which addressed theoretical modelling, testing and numerical simulations for ultra-thin deployable structures. No specific integration of social sciences and humanities was required by the topic, and SSH disciplines were not a technical component of the project. However, the project contributes indirectly to broader societal needs by enabling more reliable and efficient space structures, which can support future systems for Earth observation, telecommunications, scientific missions and space-based energy concepts.

Текст от CORDIS, на английски · Данни: CORDIS, © Европейски съюз