Heat conduction analysis for simplified model of large scale space deployable structure

Based on heat conduction and the equivalent thermal parameters, the space cable-strut deployable articulated mast and its ambient thermal environment were simplified. The dynamic boundary temperature was expanded into harmonic components adopting Fourier series, and the corresponding transient thermal response of the simplified mast under each component was calculated using one-dimensional heat conduction model, respectively. The overall transient response was then obtained via superposition principle. The thermal response under the same setup was estimated using a finite element model, by which the reasonability of aforementioned calculation was verified. The method presented in this paper could be a useful reference for thermal analysis of similar structures, particularly in conceptual design.