Thermally induced vibrations of flexible beams using Absolute Nodal Coordinate Formulation

A coupled thermal–structural analysis based on the Euler–Bernoulli beam model is conducted within a framework of Absolute Nodal Coordinate Formulation. The absorbed heat flux on the beam surface depends on actual deformation and motion of the beam, therefore the coupled transient heat conduction equation and structural dynamics equation are established and solved interactively by the generalized-α scheme. Thermally induced vibrations for a thin-walled tubular boom subjected to a sudden heating in order to simulate spacecraftʼs exit from eclipse, and structure dynamics of a rotating flexible manipulator in a thermal environment are examined in details. With the coupled thermal–structural analysis, the thermal flutter can be well predicted for a cantilever beam moving from eclipse with large incident angles of solar radiation, and the proposed model is also able to characterize the coupled thermal–structural dynamics when a flexible beam is subjected to a large rotation. The developed model can be served as a basic unit for analyzing thermal–mechanical coupling response of large flexible space structures based on the Absolute Nodal Coordinate Formulation.