Research On Loading Capacity Of Mesh Reinforced Membrane

Membrane structures have been increasingly used in inflatable structures suchas aircrafts. In order to meet the strength requirements, lightweight requirementsand configuration requirements of membranes on the surface of inflatable structures,this paper proposes a new structure named as mesh reinforced membrane (MRM). Itis made of pure membrane which has a layer of mesh made of films on it. Researchon loading capacity of MRM has profound importance on the use of membranes inaircrafts.We analyze tensile performance and wrinkle characteristics of pure membrane.This paper uses LS-DYNA to perform tension-wrinkle analysis for pure membrane.That is, to analyze the variation of parameters of wrinkles under tensile load; Thispaper takes the inflatable wing with one single cavity for example, makes itsnumerical simulation under inflatable pressure to obtain its surface precision controlparameter (RMS) and strain characteristics.Tensile performance and wrinkle characteristics of MRM are analyzed. This paperuses LS-DYNA to perform tension-wrinkle analysis for pure membrane and MRMto assess their loading efficiency. This paper analyzes tension-wrinklecharacteristics of MRM to obtain the rules between mechanical performance andparameters. These parameters include spacing of ribbons, angles and width; It makesnumerical simulation of inflatable wing made of MRM under inflatable pressure andmakes comparison with inflatable wing made of pure membrane.Experiments has been done on loading capacity of MRM. This paper makessingle-axial tension experiments of pure membrane and MRM to obtain itstension-load curve and tensile stiffness. This paper uses VIC-3D based on DICtechnology to measure strain. It also makes inflating tests for inflatable wing tomeasure its strain distribution and average deformation.This paper obtains through experiments and theoretical analysis the followingconclusions: The use of MRM can make a substantial increase on the loadingefficiency of membrane and make the distribution of stress of structures uniform; itcan control the wrinkles of membrane; it can control the configuration of inflatablewing effectively and reduce the stress on the surface of membrane.The use of MRM on inflatable structures can increase the pressure on a large scaleand make the inflatable structures stay on higher height and reduce the demand ofmembrane. So it can reduce the thickness and weight of membrane. This kind ofstructure can reach the goal of making membrane lightweight.