Buckling and Quasistatic Thermal- Structural Response of Asymmetric Rolled-Up Solar Array

Analytical studies for buckling and the quasistatic thermal‐ structural response of an asymmetrical rolled-up solar array of the type used on the Hubble Space Telescope are presented. A buckling analysis assuming asymmetric loading because of geometric asymmetry establishes critical buckling forces and buckling modes. Quasistatic thermal‐ structural responses of the solar array subjected to the sudden radiation heating typical of a night‐ day orbital transition are also developed. Computations conducted for the Hubble Space Telescope show that the solar arrays were deployed with a solar blanket prestress that would induce global torsional buckling. Numerical computations for the quasistatic response show that thermally induced bending‐ torsional deformations would cause bending moments in the solar array’ s booms consistent with the local buckling failure observed by the astronauts.