The potential of nonperiodic truss structures for space applications

In order to assess the dynamic characteristics of truss structures made of the nonperiodic lattices, a cantilever truss beam was analyzed for vibrations. In addition, three additional lattice configurations were also constructured along with two beams made of tetrahedrons. The relative frequency variations of the six cantilever truss beams for their first mode were examined. To make the comparison meaningful, the beam length, the number of lattice joints and the total weight were chosen to be identical within 2 percent differences. The frequencies of the four nonperiodic truss beams varied over 60 percent while those of the two beams of tetrahedron lattices only about 13 percent. Such wide frequency variations of the proposed nonperiodic truss beams indicate that the introduction of nonperiodic lattices could be effectively used to improve the controllability of steady state vibration as well as improved wave dispersion characteristics.