A higher-order beam finite element for the folding analysis of composite-made booms with silicon matrix and carbon fibers

The present work proposes a unified one-dimensional finite element for the analysis of ultra-thin deployable structures made of hyperelastic material. The governing equations are derived by means of a combination of the Finite Element Method (FEM) and the Carrera Unified Formulatio (CUF). The latter allows for the derivation of the finite element arrays in a unified manner, which do not depend on the employed mathematical theory and can then be chosen as an input of the analysis. The Newton-Raphson consistent linearization scheme and the Crisfield arc-length technique are adopted to solve the geometrical nonlinear problem, which arises due to the thinness of the deployable booms. This approach is used here to analyse the buckling and post-buckling behavior of Triangular Rollable and Collapsible (TRAC) booms made of a laminated material with a silicon layer that is describe with a Neo-Hookean model. The results are finally compared to those availed in the literature, considering compressible and nearly-incompressible hyperelastic materials.