A drag-increasing off-track thin film device

Abstract

This invention discloses a drag-increasing derailment film device, comprising: an inflatable base with an air inlet; radial inflatable tubes connected to the inflatable base and radially distributed around the inflatable base; each radial inflatable tube having an inflation channel communicating with the air inlet of the inflatable base; the radial inflatable tube being a Z-shaped folded tube; an annular inflatable tube connected to the radial inflatable tube and communicating with the inflation channel of the radial inflatable tube; the annular inflatable tube being a Z-shaped folded tube; and a folded membrane fixed between two adjacent radial inflatable tubes and the annular inflatable tube, the fold of the folded membrane being a Miura-ori fold. This drag-increasing derailment film device exhibits minimal deformation of the folding units during folding and has the advantage of a high storage ratio.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of drag-increasing derailment device design, and more specifically to a drag-increasing derailment thin film device. Background Technology

[0002] With the increasing frequency of human space activities, space debris, as a byproduct, poses a significant threat to the safety of spaceflight. Drag-enhanced deorbiting technology is a novel spacecraft deorbiting technique that utilizes the thin atmospheric drag in low Earth orbit to reduce the on-orbit dwell time of a spacecraft after completing its mission, accelerating its reentry into the atmosphere and subsequent destruction. The drag-enhanced deorbiting membrane device is a deployable structure that remains in a retracted and folded state during spacecraft launch and operation. After the spacecraft completes its mission, it deploys mechanically or through inflation, providing a large drag-enhancing surface area.

[0003] Origami, as an emerging engineering technology, is widely used in various space-deployable thin-film structures. The umbrella-leaf folding scheme is an efficient and relatively simple folding method. However, based on the manufacturing process of the 2m diameter prototype, the cross-sectional structure of the inflatable tube is a multi-layered composite material, resulting in high rigidity and lacking the flexibility of a typical single-layer film. Therefore, if the umbrella-leaf folding scheme is applied to the folding and retraction of this prototype, the inflatable tube will undergo significant plastic deformation during the flattening process and the final umbrella-leaf winding stage, affecting subsequent processes. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of this invention is to provide a drag-increasing off-track thin film device that can effectively reduce plastic deformation.

[0005] To solve the above problems, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is as follows:

[0006] A drag-increasing off-track thin-film device, comprising:

[0007] The inflatable base has an air inlet.

[0008] A radial inflation tube is connected to the inflation base and distributed radially around the inflation base; the radial inflation tube has an inflation channel communicating with the air inlet of the inflation base; the radial inflation tube is a Z-shaped folded tube.

[0009] An annular inflation tube is connected to the radial inflation tube and communicates with the inflation channel of the radial inflation tube; the annular inflation tube is a Z-shaped folded tube.

[0010] A folded membrane is fixed between two adjacent radial inflation tubes and annular inflation tubes, and the folds of the folded membrane are Miura-ori folds.

[0011] The folded membrane is composed of two right-angled triangles, symmetrical along the non-right-angled sides. Each right-angled triangle is divided into an outer edge variable-angle Miura crease area and an inner edge regular Miura crease area. Each inner edge regular Miura crease area consists of six panels divided by three fold lines perpendicular to the annular inflation tube and three fold lines parallel to the annular inflation tube. The six panels are three triangular panels connected to the symmetrical side and the remaining three rectangular panels. The inner and outer fold lines parallel to the annular inflation tube are valley lines, and the central fold line parallel to the annular inflation tube is a peak line. The inner and outer fold lines perpendicular to the annular inflation tube are peak lines, the inner section of the central fold line perpendicular to the annular inflation tube is a peak line, and the outer section of the central fold line perpendicular to the annular inflation tube is a valley line. The outer edge variable-angle Miura crease area consists of a first fold portion and a second fold portion in the circumferential direction. The first fold is connected to the radial inflation tube via a valley line. The first fold includes four panels: two symmetrically distributed triangular panels and two symmetrically distributed pentagonal panels. The connecting edge between the triangular and pentagonal panels is a peak line, the symmetrical edge of the two pentagonal panels is a peak line, and the symmetrical edge of the two triangular panels is a valley line. The first fold includes five triangular panels. One side of the first triangular panel is connected to the first fold by a valley line, and the other side of the first triangular panel is connected to the inner edge of the regular Miura crease area via a valley line. The remaining four triangular panels include two symmetrically distributed inner triangular panels and two symmetrically distributed outer triangular panels. The inner and outer triangular panels are connected by valley lines, the symmetrical edges of the two inner triangular panels are valley lines, and the symmetrical edges of the two outer triangular panels are peak lines.

[0012] Compared with existing technologies, the present invention provides a drag-increasing derailment film device comprising a radial inflation tube, an annular inflation tube, and a folded film. The entire folded film is separated by the radial inflation tube, and the annular inflation tube is located around the perimeter, perpendicular to the plane containing the folded film and the radial inflation tube. Under flattened conditions, the plane containing the annular inflation tube should be perpendicular to the plane of the film connected to it and the radial inflation tube. To avoid large plastic deformation, both the radial and annular inflation tubes employ simple Z-shaped folds, and the folded film connected to the annular inflation tube has an outer edge variable-angle Miura crease region to accommodate the Z-shaped folding of the annular tube perpendicular to the film plane. Therefore, the Z-shaped fold of the annular tube and the folding scheme of the folded film are more coordinated, reducing deformation during the folding process.

[0013] The folding membrane of this invention can be folded to a fully contracted state without any deformation during the folding process, effectively solving the problem of plastic deformation. This folding method greatly reduces plastic deformation and better adapts to the multi-layered structure of the inflatable tube cross-section. Attached Figure Description

[0014] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the folding structure of the present invention;

[0015] Figure 2 This is a planar schematic diagram of the folded film of the present invention;

[0016] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram showing the connection of the folded film, radial inflation tube, and annular inflation tube of the present invention.

[0017] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the overall module folding of the present invention;

[0018] Figure 5 This is a folding diagram of the overall module of the present invention, wherein Figure A shows the first layer of the folded overall module of the present invention, Figure B shows the folding process, and Figure C shows the state of reaching complete collapse. Detailed Implementation

[0019] The present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments:

[0020] This invention is a drag-increasing off-track thin-film device based on Miura-ori folding and Z-type folding, referring to... Figure 1 The invention includes a radial inflation tube 18, an annular inflation tube 19, and a folded membrane 16 fixed between the radial inflation tube 18 and the annular inflation tube 19. The radial inflation tube 18 is connected to an inflation base 17, and the inflation port is located within the inflation base 17. In one embodiment, the inflation base 17 is a tetrahedral base. Inflation is performed by connecting the inflation port to an air pump. Gas first flows through the radial inflation tube 18 and then into the annular inflation tube 19. The folded membrane 16 unfolds synchronously under the influence of the radial inflation tube 18 and the annular inflation tube 19 during the inflation unfolding process. This folding structure of the present invention can effectively reduce plastic deformation during the folding process, adapt to the multi-layer structure of the inflation tube cross-section, greatly improve folding efficiency, and increase storage capacity.

[0021] exist Figure 1 In the embodiment shown, the annular inflation tube 19 is hexagonal, and three radial inflation tubes 18 perpendicular to the annular inflation tube 19 are connected inside the annular inflation tube 19.

[0022] See the unfolded planar view of folded membrane 16. Figure 2It consists of two right triangles, symmetrical along their non-right-angled sides. Each right triangle is divided into an outer edge variable-angle Miura crease area and an inner edge regular Miura crease area. Each inner edge regular Miura crease area is divided into six panels by three fold lines perpendicular to the annular inflation tube and three fold lines parallel to the annular inflation tube. The six panels are three triangular panels (1, 4, and 6) connected to the symmetrical side and the remaining three rectangular panels (2, 3, and 5). The inner fold lines parallel to the annular inflation tube (triangular panels) The connecting edge of rectangular panel 1 and rectangular panel 2) and the outer fold line are valley lines; the central fold line parallel to the annular inflation tube (the connecting edge of rectangular panel 2 and rectangular panel 3) is a peak line; the inner fold line perpendicular to the annular inflation tube (the connecting edge of rectangular panel 5 and triangular panel 6) and the outer fold line are peak lines; the inner section of the central fold line perpendicular to the annular inflation tube (the connecting edge of rectangular panel 2 and triangular panel 4) is a peak line; the outer section of the central fold line perpendicular to the annular inflation tube (the connecting edge of rectangular panel 3 and rectangular panel 5) is a valley line; the outer edge variable angle Miura crease area is composed of... The structure comprises a first fold and a second fold in the circumferential direction, connected by a valley line. The first fold is connected to the radial inflation tube 18. The first fold includes four panels: two symmetrically distributed triangular panels (12 and 13) and two symmetrically distributed pentagonal panels (7 and 8). The connecting edge between the triangular and pentagonal panels is the peak line, the symmetrical edge of the two pentagonal panels is the peak line, and the symmetrical edge of the two triangular panels is the valley line. The first fold includes five triangular panels. One side of the first triangular panel 9 is connected to the first fold by a valley line, and the other side of the first triangular panel 9 is connected to the inner edge regular Miura crease area by a valley line. The remaining four triangular panels include two symmetrically distributed inner triangular panels (10 and 11) and two symmetrically distributed outer triangular panels (14 and 15). The inner and outer triangular panels are connected by valley lines, the symmetrical edges of the two inner triangular panels are the valley lines, and the symmetrical edges of the two outer triangular panels are the peak lines.

[0023] Pentagonal panel 7, pentagonal panel 8, triangular panel 12, and triangular panel 13 form a variable-angle Miura unit. This unit has one vertex and four creases intersecting at that point. Three of these creases are peak lines, and one is a valley line. One valley line is collinear with the peak line, and the two valley lines intersect at a single vertex. The other two valley lines are symmetrical about the line containing the peak line, forming a certain angle with the central valley line. The folding angle is controlled by the acute angle (θ) between the folding angle θ and pentagonal panels 7 and 8.

[0024] Triangular panels 10, 11, 14, and 15 intersect at a Miura crease. Each unit comprises a vertex and four intersecting creases at that point: three creases are valley lines, and one is a peak line. One valley line and one peak line are collinear, intersecting at a single vertex. The other two peak lines are symmetrical about the line containing the valley line, forming an angle with the central peak line. (The text then abruptly shifts to a description of folding angles.) θ The angle (acute angle) between the panel and panels 7 and 8 controls its folding angle.

[0025] Figure 3 The diagram shows the position and creases of the inflation tubes of this invention. The flattened radial inflation tube 18 and its surrounding folded film 16 are in the same plane. Since the inflation tubes require inflation, they are flattened into a double-layer film. The circumferential inflation tube 19 is perpendicular to the film-radial inflation tube plane. Both the circumferential inflation tube 19 and the radial inflation tube 18 adopt a Z-shaped folding scheme to reduce plastic deformation.

[0026] Figure 4 The diagram shown is a schematic diagram of the overall module folding of the present invention. The entire planar film is composed of folded film 16, folded film 20 and radial inflation tube 18. Its folding can be divided into five parts, namely the folding of four right-angled triangular modules symmetrical along the bold lines in the figure and the folding of radial inflation tube 18.

[0027] Figure 5 Figure A shows the first layer of the overall module folding of the present invention, Figure B shows the folding process, and Figure C shows the fully converged state. First, after the radial inflation tube is inflated, a single Z-shaped fold is performed simultaneously with the folding of four right-angled triangular membrane blocks. Each right-angled triangular membrane block is folded layer by layer from the rib side inwards, and simultaneously folded and converged layer by layer from the bottom edge to the acute angle vertex. The crease patterns of two adjacent (symmetrical along non-right-angled sides) right-angled triangular membrane blocks coordinate with each other at their common hypotenuse, forming a rigidly foldable quadrilateral folded membrane block. During its folding process, no deformation needs to occur within each folding unit to fold to the fully converged state. Simultaneously, two rigid quadrilateral folded membrane blocks are connected together by a flattened radial inflation tube. When the two quadrilateral membrane blocks are rigidly folded layer by layer from the obtuse angle (120°) at the bottom to the acute angle (60°) at the top, they will pull on each other at the boundary connected to the radial tube. However, since the pull occurs at the end of the fold, it will not significantly affect the stability and continuity of the entire folding process.

[0028] This invention overcomes the shortcomings of the umbrella-leaf entry scheme, adapts well to the multi-layered structure of the air tube cross-section, greatly reduces the occurrence of plastic deformation during folding, and has high storage capacity and practicality.

Claims

1. A drag-increasing orbital thin film device, characterized by, The utility model relates to a kind of inflatable film, including: Inflatable seat, with an air inlet; Radial inflatable pipe, connected on the inflatable seat and distributed radially with the inflatable seat as center;The radial inflatable pipe has inflatable passage communicated with the air inlet of the inflatable seat;The radial inflatable pipe is Z-type folded pipe; Annular inflatable pipe, connected on the radial inflatable pipe, communicated with the inflatable passage of the radial inflatable pipe;The annular inflatable pipe is Z-type folded pipe; Folded film, fixed between two adjacent radial inflatable pipes and annular inflatable pipe, the fold of the folded film is Miura-ori fold; The folded film is composed of two right-angled triangles, and the two right-angled triangles are symmetrical along the non-right-angle side;Each of the right-angled triangles is divided into an outer variable-angle Miura fold region and an inner regular Miura fold region;Each inner regular Miura fold region is composed of six panels divided by three fold lines perpendicular to the annular inflatable pipe and three fold lines parallel to the annular inflatable pipe, the six panels are respectively three triangular panels connected with the symmetrical side and the remaining three rectangular panels;The inner fold line and the outer fold line parallel to the annular inflatable pipe are valley lines, and the central fold line parallel to the annular inflatable pipe is a peak line;The inner fold line and the outer fold line perpendicular to the annular inflatable pipe are peak lines, the inner segment of the central fold line perpendicular to the annular inflatable pipe is a peak line, and the outer segment of the central fold line perpendicular to the annular inflatable pipe is a valley line;The outer variable-angle Miura fold region is composed of a first fold part and a second fold part in the ring direction, the first fold part and the second fold part are connected by a valley line, and the first fold part is connected to the radial inflatable pipe;The first fold part includes four panels, which are respectively two triangular panels symmetrically distributed and two pentagonal panels symmetrically distributed, the connecting side of the triangular panel and the pentagonal panel is a peak line, the symmetrical side of the two pentagonal panels is a peak line, and the symmetrical side of the two triangular panels is a valley line;The first fold part includes five triangular panels, one side of the first triangular panel in the five triangular panels is connected to the first fold part through a valley line, and the other side of the first triangular panel is connected to the inner regular Miura fold region through a valley line;The remaining four triangular panels in the five triangular panels include two inner triangular panels symmetrically distributed and two outer triangular panels symmetrically distributed, the inner triangular panel and the outer triangular panel are connected by a valley line, the symmetrical side of the two inner triangular panels is a valley line, and the symmetrical side of the two outer triangular panels is a peak line.

2. The resistive deorbiting membrane device of claim 1, wherein, The fold lines of the annular inflatable pipe are arranged at equal intervals along the length direction of the pipe, and one of the fold lines of the adjacent two fold lines is a peak line and the other is a valley line;The position of the peak line of the annular inflatable pipe is the same as the position of the peak line on the annular inflatable pipe perpendicular to the outer variable-angle Miura fold region, and the position of the valley line of the annular inflatable pipe is the same as the position of the valley line on the annular inflatable pipe perpendicular to the outer variable-angle Miura fold region.

3. The resistive orbital debris-mitigation membrane device of claim 2, wherein, The fold lines of the radial inflatable pipe are arranged at equal intervals along the length direction of the pipe, and one of the fold lines of the adjacent two fold lines is a peak line and the other is a valley line.

4. The resistive deorbiting membrane device of claim 2, wherein, The annular inflatable pipe is a polygon.

5. The resistive orbital debris film device of claim 4, wherein, The annular inflatable tube is 6 hexagonal.

6. The resistive orbital debris-mitigation membrane device of claim 4, wherein, The radial inflatable tubes are 3.

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