Sensitivity of Initial Imperfections for the Tape-spring Under Pure Bending Load

To obtain the initial imperfections sensitivities of the tape-spring, and thus improve the stability of the space deployable hinge, a model with eigenvalue-buckling-mode imperfection was established by the finite element software Abaqus. The influence of the orders and the factors of the eigenvalue-buckling-mode as variables on the mechanical behaviors in the pure-bending process of the tape-spring were investigated. Results show that the tape-spring is more sensitive to the eigenvalue-buckling-mode imperfection in positive bending. The eigenvalue-buckling-mode imperfection has a smaller effect on the driving force, but has a bigger influence on the self-locking ability of the tape-spring. This research is useful to complement and perfect the analysis on the tape-spring stability.