Dynamic analysis of maneuvering flexible spacecraft appendage using higher order sandwich panel theory

Abstract

This paper is devoted to the vibration of rotating flexible spacecraft. The maneuver of the spacecraft is modeled by a constant torque input acting on the hub. For the first time in this paper the equations of motion of flexible spacecraft are derived based on higher order sandwich panel theory (HSAPT). Hamilton’s principle is used for driving the governing partial differential equations of motion. The generalized differential quadrature method (GDQ) is utilized to solve the partial differential equations of motion. The effect of different parameters on vibration of rotating flexible spacecraft appendage is investigated. It is also investigated the effect of these parameters on natural frequencies. The result of HSAPT and Euler Bernoulli theory is compared with each other. To show the accuracy the natural frequencies of recent paper are compared with the literature.