Abstract
The vibration characteristics of cantilevered straight and curved carbon/epoxy bistable reeled composites (BRCs) have been investigated. The tube length, cross-section radius, subtending angle, longitudinal curvature and number of plies - design parameters were investigated for their effects on the vibration modes. The boom length affects the frequency the most, which is found to be inversely proportional to the square of boom length, in addition to ABAQUS simulation results showing that frequency is proportional to curvature. Short, three-ply carbon/epoxy samples were manufactured and tested. A regime change from short (48.5cm) to slender (≈150cm) tubes was observed, signified by curved tubes exhibiting higher vibration modes in a particular plane than the straight ones in simulation - highlighting the scalability of curved BRC applications. Recommendations for the upcoming CleanSpace One, EPFL space mission which uses curved tubes for its capture mechanism, are discussed. Dynamic stability analysis was performed by simulating increasing rotary accelerations, causing the cantilevered BRCs attached to a spacecraft to rotate. A failure point derived from the Budiansky-Hutchinson criterion was developed to determine the maximum rotation acceleration - the critical value by which the tube loses stability.