ENERGY-DISSIPATING SNAP-RESISTANT TETHER

A 1D flexible composite material tailoring concept for increased energy dissipation through a progressive, sequential failure of redundant load paths of tailored length and strength has been previously developed, modeled and experimentally verified. In this work, the applicability and benefits of this tailoring concept to space tethers is analytically investigated. A response model for the case of two masses connected by a tailored tether is developed based upon an earlier model of response under impulsive loading. An approximate model of tether response is developed to greatly improve the computational effort and is shown to be very accurate for long tethers.