Experimental and Numerical Analysis of Mechanical Properties of Tape Spring Hinges and Optimal Design

A tape spring with outstanding self-driven, self-locking performances is exploited for deployable structure. A novel hinge using three tape springs is design, and this paper presents a complete set of optimization process for the hinge. The quasi static simulation techniques for deploying and folding processes are studied in ABAQUS, and verified by experiments using particularly designed apparatus. Impact ratio is defined to measure the overshoot of the hinge when deploying, then analysis of effects from geometric parameters on performances of the hinge is carried out. And then, optimal model of the hinge that aims to minimize impact ratio subjected to allowable stress is established based on the Response Surface Methodology (RSM) and the analysis of parameters’ effects. Large Scale Generalized Reduced Gradient algorithm (LSGRG) in Isight is selected to solve optimal equations. The optimal results show that impact ratio is decreased by 58.6% and Mises stress is within the safety limits. The proposed method is of great significance for designing novel deployable structure with higher stability and reliability.