Efficient Storage and Deployment of Tubular Composite Boom Using Spring Root Hinges

This paper proposes a metallic spring root hinge to effectively stow and deploy a collapsible and rollable tubular carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) boom. The proposed hinge consists of two half-cylindrical parts with narrowed regions and a hole. One of the ends of the hinge is fixed to a hub with the circular cross section, and the other end that is connected to the boom is flattened with the boom to roll the boom around the hub with a small diameter. First, the hinge concept was designed, and a numerical analysis of the stowing of the hinge was conducted. Subsequently, the tests of compression, expansion, bending, stowage, and vibration of the hinge and the boom were conducted to show the effectiveness of the hinge, especially in the stowage radius and the bending stiffness. Finite element simulations of the compression test and vibration mode analysis were also conducted. Finally, deployment tests of the boom with and without the hinge were performed to compare the deployment behaviors. The tubular CFRP booms with the hinges are expected to be used for developing an efficient lightweight large membrane structure.