Shaped and branched analogs of triangle multi-leaf spring

The effectiveness of elastic elements like leaf springs is determined by their possibility to store the maximum elastic energy for unit mass of springs. For example, in the sense of elastic energy stored in 1 kg of mass, the unidirectional GFRP is one of the best among all structure materials due to its high strength and critical strain, and low Young’s modulus and density. In this paper we discuss the possibility and effectiveness of composites application for equistrong shaped and branched elastic beams with a constant sum area of cross sections (“constarea”). These beams are the analogs of steel multi-leaf springs, and at a fixed compliance and bear capacity these beams may provide great mass advantages: approximately threefold mass reduction for the end force action and a five-time reduction for a uniform disturbed loading with no account of connection problems. It’s pointed that traditional maximum deflection computation methods lead us to infinity integrals for “sharp” shaped beams, but the stored elastic energy remains correct and finite for formally infinite deflections. It is shown that the branched structures may give approximately the same effectiveness as shaped ones but they have some additional advantages connected with: the absence of cut fibers (Leonardo’s rule); the exclusion of fiber disorientation; the possibility of a leaf spring size limitation during a “branch” connection with the bundle. In future branching and shaping composite elastic elements may become efficient for space-based constructions without size limitations due to their low mass and energy of production, and these factors allow them to be produced directly in an orbit laboratory.