Development and Rotation Characteristics Analysis of a Large-Scale Deployable Arm

In the spin-off acceleration stage during high-speed rotation in space, the deployable arm of the space gravity simulation device must withstand a large axial centrifugal force and a driving torque. In this paper, a large-scale high-speed rotating deployable arm is proposed, and the relevant characteristics during the rotation process are analyzed. A new driving mode of towed deployment is proposed that can lead to the rapid and efficient deployment of a large-scale deployable arm. First, an optimized configuration of a deployable arm is proposed. Second, the deployment driving process of the deployable arm under several different drag driving modes is simulated and analyzed, and a comparative analysis is performed to select a simple and reliable drag deployment driving scheme. Then, the effects of various disturbances on the posture of the deployable arm during the rotation process are explored, guiding the posture control of the deployable arm. Finally, a 10 m four-unit prototype is developed for the stiffness and rotation tests, which verify that the theoretical analysis in this paper is correct.