LOAD-DEFLECTION BEHAVIOR OF SPACE-BASED INFLATABLE FABRIC BEAMS

The use of inflatable structures has often been proposed for aerospace applications. The advantages of such structures include low launch weight and easy assembly. To consider using inflated fabric beams in aerospace applications, an accurate and efficient method of structural analysis must be developed. This paper develops a method of analysis for inflated fabric beams that is analogous to the shear-moment method. The bending model is developed from basic assumptions about the state of stress in the fabric of the inflated beam. The resulting model shows that the bending behavior of inflatable fabric beams is identical to conventional solid elastic beams as long as the beam fabric remains unwrinkled. Experimental data were obtained and verify the static bending model for beams with length/diameter ratios greater than 10.