A method for studying the free deployment dynamics of folding spacecraft structures that uses multi-body dynamics and a simplified hinge representation is being explored to numerically study large scale deployment dynamics. In the approach, fold panels are treated as rigid bodies and the flexible hinges are represented by internal forcing functions. A high strain composite tape spring hinge is a novel actuator for free deployment, however without additional constraining mechanisms, such a hinge can display non-symmetric, three dimensional behavior. The focus of this paper is to develop a hinge model that represents the forces and torques of the hinge on the bodies as a function of the hinge's full degrees of freedom, relative position and orientation states. Data for force and torque is acquired through finite element simulations and an experimental test bed. Data values of the two methods are compared. Nonlinear regression fits candidate polynomials to the simulation data and the effectiveness of the fits are explored.
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