Coupling Dynamics of Flexible Spacecraft Filled with Liquid Propellant
Publication: Journal of Aerospace Engineering
Volume 32, Issue 5
Abstract
This paper discusses the coupling dynamics behavior of spacecraft equipped with flexible appendages and liquid propellant tanks. The moving pulsating ball model (MPBM) is used to imitate large-scale liquid propellant motion in a tank. The flexible appendage is modeled as a three-dimensional Bernoulli–Euler beam with a free end and an end fixed to the rigid part of the spacecraft. Governing equations for the beam’s elastic motion, a set of nonlinear partial differential equations, are discretized into an infinite system of nonlinear ordinary differential equations by two different methods: assumed mode method (AMM) and rigid-flexible coupling mode method (RFM). For AMM, the beam mentioned previously is assumed to be a cantilever beam. For RFM, the modal shapes and frequencies of the beam are determined by mutual interaction between spacecraft motion and an appendage’s elastic motion, which is neglected in AMM. The spacecraft’s attitude transition is carried out using a momentum transfer technique, and a feedback controller is designed accordingly. Numerical simulations demonstrate the beam elastic vibration, spacecraft angular rates, liquid propellant motion, liquid-flexible coupling behaviors, and a comparison between AMM and RFM results. The work presented here may provide new insights into the coupling dynamics of liquid-filled flexible spacecraft systems.
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Acknowledgments
The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NNSFC) through Grant No. 11802320.
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Information
Published In
Journal of Aerospace Engineering
Volume 32 • Issue 5 • September 2019
Copyright
©2019 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Feb 2, 2019
Accepted: Apr 15, 2019
Published online: Jun 28, 2019
Published in print: Sep 1, 2019
Discussion open until: Nov 28, 2019
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