Efficient Simulation of Rectangular Solar Array Deployment Dynamics Based on the Deluxe FETI-DP Parallel Algorithm

Deployable space structures, such as flexible solar arrays, are increasingly lightweight and large-scale, which pose significant challenges related to large rotations and deformations during deployment. The flexible multibody dynamics approach is widely utilized for developing high-dimensional nonlinear models to accurately predict complex dynamic behaviors. However, the computational inefficiency of these models presents a significant challenge. To address this issue, the study employs the finite element tearing and interconnecting-dual primal (FETI-DP) parallel algorithm enhanced with the deluxe scaling method. This approach integrates stiffness matrices at subdomain interfaces and constructs weighting factors to mitigate magnitude differences caused by material coefficient variations, thereby improving the condition number of the coefficient matrix in the interface equations and reducing the number of iterations required for computation. A simulation of rectangular solar array deployment dynamics is conducted using the deluxe FETI-DP method, with results compared with the serial algorithm and standard FETI-DP. Numerical results show that the deluxe FETI-DP improves computational efficiency by 70. 98% compared to the serial algorithm and by 64. 16% compared to standard FETI-DP. This study provides a theoretical foundation for efficiently simulating rectangular solar array deployment dynamics. © 2024 Chinese Society of Astronautics. All rights reserved.