Physics-informed data-driven tension identification for X-configuration cable-strut assembly based on dimensional analysis and SINDy
Year: 2026
Type: conference-paper
Abstract: With the development of space station construction and deep space exploration, the high-storage-ratio space deployable structures, represented by space cable-rod deployable articulated mast, have become an important development direction of space mechanisms. As the core component of such a mast, the tension of the cable-struct assembly directly affects the dynamic characteristics of the structure. To address the issues that traditional contact tension measurements are prone to causing structural damage, and purely data-driven empirical formulas are susceptible to high-order polynomial overfitting and poor generalizability, this paper proposes a zero-contact tension identification method integrating dimensional analysis with data-driven approaches. Based on Buckingham’s π theorem, a comprehensive dimensional candidate library encompassing polynomial features and modal cross-coupling terms was constructed. Subsequently, the Sparse Identification of Nonlinear Dynamics (SINDy) algorithm is introduced to eliminate high-order numerical redundancies, such as cubic terms, thereby establishing an empirical formula for the four-cable tension. Within the operating tension range of 240∼340 N, the formula coefficients are calibrated using the LASSO algorithm with cross-validation in conjunction with finite element data. To achieve efficient and zero-destructive tension measurement, a zero-contact multi-modal frequency testing method based on acoustic excitation and laser vibrometry is proposed, yielding experimental results. Both 80 sets of simulation validations and 160 sets of physical experiments demonstrate that the relative error of tension prediction is strictly controlled within 5%. Furthermore, the influences of the central locking mass, cable elastic modulus, and stiffness coefficient on the identification results are discussed. The proposed empirical formula breaks through the limitations of traditional single-cable frequency formulas, providing a novel approach for the zero-contact tension identification of the X-configuration cable-strut assembly in s space cable-rod deployable articulated mechanisms.
Institutions: Tianjin University, Beijing Institute of Water
Language: English
Subfield: Civil and Structural Engineering
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7214636019