Author(s)

E. Wehrli

Abstract

The limitations of ground testing for deployment of space structures in- volving new technologies has motivated research work in the field of multi- body dynamics simulations. A general model for the dynamics of flexible multibody structures based on Lagrange's equations has been developed. A method for computing internal forces by use of modal synthesis techniques is presented. Simulations of the deployment of SPOT-4 type solar array have been realized, which include evaluation of maximum forces. 1 Introduction The dynamics of articulated structures such as rotating mechanisms or robotic arms has been an area of interest for a few decades. Research work for describing the kinematics of mechanisms with appropriate notations can be found as early as 1955 [1], and the Lagrangian formalism has been used for obtaining the dynamics of fle

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