Mechanics of very long tethered systems |
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| Institution: | 1. Research Center for Intelligent Robotics, School of Astronautics, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an, Shaanxi, 710072, China;2. National Key Laboratory of Aerospace Flight Dynamics, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an, Shaanxi, 710072, China;1. State Key Laboratory of Mechanics and Control of Mechanical Structures, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 29 Yudao Street, Nanjing 210016, Jiangsu, China;2. Department of Earth and Space Science and Engineering, York University, 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, Ontario M3J 1P3, Canada |
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| Abstract: | A space elevator has been proposed as an alternate method for launching satellites; however, the materials available now are not strong enough to support the stress generated in the structure. On the other hand, with the existing technology, a partial elevator is feasible. In this paper, the mechanics of a very long tethered system that functions as a partial elevator is studied. For such a system, the center of mass, center of gravity, and center of orbit are not coincident; disregarding this distinction can lead to erroneous results. A relation between these three points is presented in this paper. A consistent stress distribution along the tether is obtained by taking into account the distinction between these points. Dynamics of the system consisting of two end bodies, the tether (with mass), and a climber is examined. The equations of motion are derived using the Lagrangian formulation and analyzed numerically. |
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