Dynamic Characterization of an Inflatable Concentrator for Solar Thermal Propulsion

摘要

Solar-thermal propulsion is a concept for producing thrust sufficient for orbital transfers and requires innovative, lightweight structures. This Note presents a description of an inflatable concentrator that consists of a torus, lens simulator, and three tapered struts. Modal testing was discussed for characterization and verification of the solar concentrator assembly. Finite element shell models of the concentrator were developed using a two-step nonlinear approach, and results were compared to test data. Reasonable model-to-test agreement was achieved for the torus, and results for the concentrator assembly were comparable to the test for several modes.