Abstract: For the purpose of solving the problems such as large flexibility, strong nonlinearity, high coupling and complex deployment process of the circular membrane solar arrays, the UltraFlex solar wing is taken as the research object in this paper, using the membrane element to simulate the wings and get a better deployment effect than using the shell element. The nonlinear finite element software SAMCEF is used to carry out the dynamic simulation analysis of the expansion process of UltraFlex. By analyzing the energy change curve in the system expansion process, the influence of different rotation angle driving functions on its expansion stability is studied. The modal analysis for the locked state of the circular membrane solar arrays is also studied. The simulation results fit with ANSYS from NASA well, and these results are compared with the UltraFlex 175 prototype test from NASA. As the results shown, the error is within 6.77%, which conforms to the US TRL6 standard, validating the accuracy and the effectiveness of the FEM numerical model. This research has crucial practical significance.

Key words: Circular membrane solar arrays, Numerical simulation, Dynamics analysis, Modal analysis