Deployable structures serve a large number of space missions. They are vital since spacecraft are launched by placing them inside launch vehicle payload fairings of limited volume. Traditional spacecraft design often involves large components. These components could have power, communication, or optics applications and include booms, masts, antennas, and solar arrays. Different stowing methods are used in order to reduce the overall size of a spacecraft. Some examples of stowing methods include simple articulating, more complex origami inspired folding, telescoping, and rolling or wrapping. Wrapping of a flexible component could reduce the weight by eliminating joints and other components needed to enable some of the other mechanisms. It also is one of the most effective methods at reducing the compaction volume of the stowed deployable. In this study, a generic unfurlable structure is optimized for maximum natural frequency at its fully deployed configuration and minimal strain energy in its stowed configuration. The optimized stowed structure is then deployed in simulation. The structure consists of a rectangular panel that tightly wraps around a central cylindrical hub for release in space. It is desired to minimize elastic energy in the fully wrapped panel and hinge to ensure minimum reaction load into the spacecraft as it deploys in space, since that elastic energy stored at the stowed position transforms into kinetic energy when the panel is released and induces a moment in the connected spacecraft. It is also desired to maximize the fundamental frequency of the released panel as a surrogate for the panel having sufficient stiffness. Deployment dynamic analysis of the finite element model was run to ensure satisfactory optimization formulation and results.
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