Experimental Investigation of Heat Flux Characteristics on the Thermally Induced Vibration of a Slender Thin-Walled Beam

The spacecraft with large flexible space structures may be subject to the thermally induced vibration (TIV) due to the rapidly changed solar heat flux when it enters and leaves the eclipse, which would lead to certain spacecraft failure. This paper reports a laboratory experiment that aims to study the impact of transient characteristics of heat flux on the ground experiment of TIV. In the experiments on the TIV of a slender thin-walled beam, two different methods of providing transient heat flux were considered, and the process of entering and leaving eclipse was simulated, respectively. The experimental results demonstrate that different transient characteristics of heat flux will have large impact on the TIV of the specimen, and the ideal theoretical estimation of thermal characteristic time has limitations in practical engineering. In addition, it is found that the traditional way of simulating solar heat flux by turning on/off infrared heat lamps is not suitable for the TIV ground experiment. Instead, a transient heat flux simulation method by moving the baffle is recommended.