Structural Optimization and Performance Analysis of Boom-Supported Non-Flat Solar Sails
Year: 2025
Type: dissertation
Abstract: Solar sailing represents a novel propulsion technique that employs solar photons to generate thrust without the need for traditional propellants. By leveraging solar radiation pressure, this approach enables extended missions and improves mass efficiency compared to conventional chemical propulsion systems. As the demand for lightweight and scalable propulsion solutions increases, particularly in the context of small satellites and deep-space missions, there is a corresponding rise in interest in advancing solar sail designs. This trend underscores the significance of ongoing research into innovative solar sail technologies. Despite its potential, solar sailing faces several significant challenges, particularly in maintaining structural stability and achieving efficient propulsion in flat membrane designs. Continuous exposure to solar radiation pressure can lead to deformation and misalignment of the sails, thereby affecting thrust direction and introducing unintended torque. Furthermore, larger sails often struggle to maintain uniform tension and are susceptible to issues such as wrinkles or tears, which can considerably diminish their effectiveness across various mission scenarios. This thesis explores square solar sails supported by deployable booms and utilizes origami-inspired folding techniques to enhance mechanical stability and propulsion efficiency. A review of solar sail advancements highlights successful missions such as JAXA’s IKAROS, which demonstrated that inclined geometries can significantly improve structural stiffness. While flat sails theoretically maximize exposure to solar radiation pressure, they are prone to wrinkling, tearing, and large deformations caused by solar and thermal loads. These limitations often necessitate thicker membranes or additional reinforcements, which increase system mass and complicate deployment. Before applying origami-inspired folding primarily intended for compact stowage, we focused on intentionally designing a non-flat sail configuration to improve stiffness. Using Finite Element Analysis (FEA), we modeled a 14 × 14m2 sail to study the effects of membrane thickness and fold height on its performance. We analyzed several folding patterns, including Palmer-Shafer (iso-area flasher), Miura-ori, and parachute folds. To maintain the non-flat shape, the booms were deliberately not fully extended, preserving part of the sail’s curvature. Among these configurations, the parachute-folded design demonstrated the best massto-thrust efficiency, thanks to its structural robustness and more uniform stress distribution. Additionally, a predictive thrust model was developed to correlate fold height with thrust and deformation, enabling quicker performance estimates during mission planning. In conjunction with this, the thesis presents an optimization of solar sail booms featuring omega-shaped carbon fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP) cross-sections. These booms improve stiffness while maintaining compatibility with folded sail designs. A multi-objective optimization framework was employed to simultaneously minimize deformation and maximize characteristic acceleration, providing practical guidelines to balance propulsion and structural requirements. Overall, this research demonstrates that folded, non-flat solar sails supported by optimized boom structures offer enhanced performance and simpler deployment. These advancements address critical challenges for future solar sail missions and establish a foundation for robust, scalable solar sail architectures.
DOI: 10.18997/0002002130
Author: Santos Lula Barros, Leticia
Language: English
Subfield: Civil and Structural Engineering
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7115899607
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