Author(s)

H. Eskandari and D. Nikanpour

Abstract

This study examines the effects of materials on the stiffness of space structures and addresses pitfalls in materials selection. Moreover, the effect of structure's configuration and methods of finite element modeling of honeycomb-core sandwich structures on the structure's stiffness are evaluated. The focus of the study is the structure of a small satellite made of three square decks and nine tubular beams. The study demonstrates that designing a structure with seemingly superior composite materials may not always lead to a better performance in comparison to conventional materials. The use of composite materials (especially anisotropic ones) instead of conventional materials (usually isotropic) requires careful examination of the concerned application in order to avoid improper use of composite materials. The results reveal the degree of the

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