Abstract
In deep space exploration, the high-speed separation process of spacecraft is fraught with uncertainty and uncontrollability. To accurately simulate and analyze this process, a series of ground tests are typically required. In this study, a cable-driven mechanism is proposed to simulate this process. Given the high initial velocity of the spacecraft, the cable force undergoes violent fluctuations. Thus, a detailed study of the mechanism governing the forcetransmission characteristics is essential to enhance the accuracy of cable force application. Three key parameters, such as slack time, peak cable force, and average relative error, are proposed to illustrate force-transmission characteristics. The effects of parameters such as thrust, pre-tension, and Young’s modulus on force-transmission characteristics are also investigated. An input force planning algorithm is proposed to improve the accuracy of the cable force. High-speed separation tests are conducted within certain upper and lower bounds, and the experimental and simulation data demonstrate good agreement, confirming the accuracy of the proposed model.
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Abbreviations
- A :
-
Cross-sectional area of cable
- d :
-
Sample number of the transition point
- DER :
-
Degree of error reduction
- dy :
-
Cable element at y
- EOC :
-
Error optimization capacity
- E :
-
Young’s modulus
- F :
-
Cable force
- F pre :
-
Pre-tension
- F thrust :
-
Thrust of the energy storage device
- F in :
-
Cable force at point Q
- F out :
-
Cable force at point S
- H and X :
-
Vandermonde matrix and coefficient matrix of the polynomial
- J :
-
Drum inertia about the x-axis
- \(k_d^r\) :
-
Transition point
- l :
-
Length of the cable between the drum and the separated part
- L 0 :
-
Total length of the cable
- m :
-
Mass of the separated part
- M, C, K, and W :
-
Mass, damping, stiffness, and external force matrices, respectively
- N :
-
Total number of data points in the long-term separation
- P r :
-
Sample point of the original input
- P L :
-
Reference points
- q :
-
Generalized coordinate relative to u
- r :
-
Sample number of the transition time
- R :
-
Radius of the drum
- r c :
-
Radius of the cable
- t :
-
Time
- t 1 and t 2 :
-
Time when the short-term and long-term separation ends
- t r :
-
Transition time
- t s :
-
Cable slack time
- T :
-
End time
- u and u (y(t), t):
-
Elongation of the cable
- u t and u y :
-
Derivative of u with respect to t and y
- u tt :
-
Second order derivative of u with respect to t
- v :
-
Speed of the cable
- ρ :
-
Density of the cable
- θ :
-
Angular location of point P
- Τ :
-
Torque of the motor
- ε :
-
Average relative error
- Δd :
-
Displacement of short-term separation
- ΔL :
-
Displacement of long-term separation
- Δt :
-
Time delay
- ζ Linear :
-
Transition function of the linear interpolation
- ζ Poly :
-
Transition function of the polynomial fitting
- ζ Power :
-
Transition function of the power approximation
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Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51975044 and No. 51975307) and the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (Grant No. 2022M711804).
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Senhao Hou received the Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Tsinghua University, Beijing, China, in 2021. He is a postdoctoral of the Department of mechanical engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China. His research interests include cable robots and force control.
Dongxing Li received the B.S. from Tsinghua University, Beijing, China, in 2019. He is currently a Ph.D. candidate in Mechanical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China. His research interests are cable robots and robot control.
Qunzhi Li received the Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Tianjin University, Tianjin, China, in 2007. She is currently a senior engineer of Beijing Institute of Spacecraft System Engineering. Her research interests are spacecraft overall design, space robot, and other related work.
Xiaoqiang Tang received the Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Tsinghua University, Beijing, China, in 2001. He is currently a Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Tsinghua University. His research interests include parallel manipulators, robots, and reconfigurable manufacturing technology.
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Hou, S., Li, D., Li, Q. et al. Force-transmission characteristics of a cable-driven mechanism with high initial velocity for spacecraft separation in ground tests. J Mech Sci Technol 37, 6311–6324 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-023-1108-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-023-1108-z