C. Gantes et al., SIMULATION OF THE DEPLOYMENT PROCESS OF MULTIUNIT DEPLOYABLE STRUCTURES ON A CRAY-2, The international journal of supercomputer applications and high performance computing, 7(2), 1993, pp. 144-154
Deployable structures are prefabricated space frames consisting of str
aight members that can be stored in a compact, folded configuration an
d can be easily deployed into a large-volume, load-bearing configurati
on. A new type of deployable structure offers the further advantage of
being stable and stress-free in both of these two limiting configurat
ions. During the deployment process, however, geometric incompatibilit
ies cause a nonlinear response and a snap-through type of behavior. Nu
merical simulation of this phase is a crucial part of designing such s
tructures. This article illustrates how the finite element program ADI
NA and the supercomputing capabilities of the CRAY-2 were used to simu
late the deployment process. This example is used to highlight the imp
act of continuously developing software and hardware technology on eng
ineering design.