Design and analysis of hexagonal prism modular deployable membrane sunshield

Dake TIAN; Liyong ZHANG; Yongbin WANG; Jishou FANG; Lu JIN; Rongqiang LIU

doi:10.7527/S1000-6893.2025.31749

ACTA AERONAUTICAET ASTRONAUTICA SINICA >

2025 , Vol. 46 >Issue 18: 431749 - 431749

DOI: https://doi.org/10.7527/S1000-6893.2025.31749

Material Engineering and Mechanical Manufacturing

Design and analysis of hexagonal prism modular deployable membrane sunshield

Dake TIAN ,
Liyong ZHANG ,
Yongbin WANG ,
Jishou FANG ,
Lu JIN ,
Rongqiang LIU

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^1.School of Mechanical Engineering，Shenyang Jianzhu University，Shenyang 110168，China
^2.Beijing Institute of Space Mechanics & Electricity，Beijing 100094，China
^3.School of Civil Engineering，Shenyang Jianzhu University，Shenyang 110168，China
^4.National Key Laboratory of Aerospace Mechanism，Harbin Institute of Technology，Harbin 150001，China

E-mail： jinlu@sjzu.edu.cn

Received date: 2024-12-31

Revised date: 2025-02-06

Accepted date: 2025-05-26

Online published: 2025-06-27

Supported by

Joint Funds of the National Natural Science Foundation of China(U2341237);Open Project of Laboratory of Aerospace Entry, Descent and Landing Technology of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation(EDL19092302);Foundation of Educational Department of Liaoning Province(LJ222410153096)

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Abstract

The deployable sunshield is a critical aerospace device for suppressing and eliminating stray light， preventing external heat flux intrusion， and improving the imaging quality of optical systems. It is a forefront and hotspot in academic research and practical applications in space science and deep space exploration. To address the urgent demands for large-scale， high-storage-ratio sunshields in lunar exploration， Mars exploration， and interstellar missions， a modular scalable cylindrical sunshield configuration is proposed. Firstly， based on the modular concept， a redundantly driven deployable support mechanism with a rigid-flexible coupled multibody system is developed using the Sarrus mechanism as the fundamental configuration. The deployment， retraction， locking， and stiffening mechanisms of the structure are explained， and the spatial geometric coordinate method is employed to analyze the motion patterns of key nodes during the deployment process. Secondly， finite element models of single-layer folded membranes under various parameters are established using ABAQUS to investigate parameter effects on mechanical behavior during deployment. Optimal design parameters are determined through comparative analysis， followed by dynamic simulations of multilayer membrane deployment processes to characterize stress evolution patterns. Thirdly， a finite-element model of the fully deployed state of the entire sunshield is established， and a structural modal analysis is conducted to analyze the variation laws of the natural frequency and vibration mode. Finally， a multi-module sunshield prototype is developed， and deployment functionality tests are conducted on a microgravity test platform. The results show that the designed sunshield effectively achieves deployment and locking functions， with coordinated and interference-free deployment of the mechanism and membrane， thereby verifying the correctness of the proposed principle and design. This study provides a theoretical foundation and technical reference for research on similar spacecraft sunshields.

Key words： modular structure; membrane sunshield; kinematics analysis; Kresling origami; structural design

Cite this article

Dake TIAN , Liyong ZHANG , Yongbin WANG , Jishou FANG , Lu JIN , Rongqiang LIU . Design and analysis of hexagonal prism modular deployable membrane sunshield[J]. ACTA AERONAUTICAET ASTRONAUTICA SINICA, 2025 , 46(18) : 431749 -431749 . DOI: 10.7527/S1000-6893.2025.31749

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