Carbon fiber reinforced composites (CFRC), known for their low stiffness and light weight, are widely used in manufacturing large-span solar arrays for satellites or spacecraft. However, solar wings made from such materials are prone to vibration under spacecraft or celestial body disturbances, and these vibrations are difficult to attenuate rapidly, which can affect the pointing accuracy and attitude control of the satellite or spacecraft. As the array size increases, the effects of geometric nonlinear vibrations become non-negligible. Therefore, predicting and controlling the geometrically nonlinear vibration behavior of large-span solar wings is crucial.

Satellite/Spacecraft Equipped with Large-Span Solar Wings (Image from Internet)

Recently, a research team from the Center for Space Automation Technology and Systems at the Shenyang Institute of Automation (SIA), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), has made progress in the nonlinear vibration analysis and active vibration control of carbon fiber reinforced composite cantilever laminated plates. The research team established a ground prototype test platform, developed a geometric nonlinear model, designed an active controller based on a nonlinear state observer, created an efficient numerical solving algorithm, and built a simulation test platform. This systematic approach enabled the simulation, verification, and analysis of the nonlinear vibration behavior and active control effectiveness of CFRC cantilever laminated plates.

Ground Test Platform and Control Effectiveness (Image by the research group)

The research results demonstrate that the proposed dynamic analysis model can effectively predict the nonlinear vibration behavior of composite spatial thin-walled structures. The designed nonlinear controller outperforms traditional controllers in performance metrics such as amplitude attenuation ratio and fast response time, providing a solution for the nonlinear vibration control of composite plate and shell structures in spacecraft.

This research, entitled Nonlinear vibration analysis and active vibration control of carbon fiber reinforced composite cantilever laminated plate, has been published in the international aerospace journal Mechanical Systems and Signal Processing. Huadong Li, a Ph.D. candidate at SIA, is the first author, and Researcher Haitao Luo is the corresponding author.

The research team has long been dedicated to the research of composite thin-walled structures and their aerospace applications, continuously advancing the integration of advanced composite technology with space satellite engineering.

This study was supported by projects including the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the Joint Innovation Fund of the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics of CAS, and SIA.