Study on Central Tearing Properties of Kapton Membrane

Abstract

Abstract In order to master the tearing properties of Kapton membrane, the main material of the inflatable antenna reflector, research on the tearing property of Kapton membrane has been carried out based on experiment, theoretical analysis and numerical simulation. The effects of the slit angle and the temperature on the tearing properties of the membrane were respectively considered in two groups of central tearing tests, and the whole slit propagation and failure forms of the membrane were analyzed. According to the test results, it is found that four theories were used to predict its tearing strength under different slit angles, and based on goodness of fit, Thiele empirical formula can better predict the tearing strength of Kapton membrane. XFEM (Extended finite element method) was used to simulate the slit expansion of membrane materials. The results showed that the simulation method could not only well reflect the whole slit propagation of membrane, but also accurately obtain the tearing strength of membrane materials. This paper is the first time to accumulate data for the tearing properties of Kapton menbrane. The conclusions and research methods can provide references for the inflatable structure design and structural safety evaluation of Kapton membrane in engineering applications.