Mechanical Engineering Commons^™

Control And Mechanism Interaction For Ground-Based Testing Of Space Structures, Li-Farn Yang

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

In the ground-based validation testing, the adverse effect of terrestrial conditions such as a gravitational force interferes with the dynamic behavior of space structures. A suspension system is developed to assess the structural characteristics in a simulated zero-gravity environment. Using a mechanisms approach, the synthesis of a noncircular disk with a torsional spring at its rotational axis is designed to counteract the gravitational force of test structures during the testing.

The multibody dynamics of a flexible steel beam carried on a rigid trolley has been investigated. The system is constructed in such a way that the rapid and large-angle slewing …