Stochastic analysis of the vibrations of an uncertain composite truss for space applications

A hybrid technique to model the effects of mechanical uncertainties on the structural response of large composite trusses for space application is presented and discussed: the proposed method is based on the Monte-Carlo evaluation of finite element stochastic weighted integrals, which allows decoupling the structural discretization mesh from the stochastic one. A benchmark problem, regarding the modal analysis and the harmonic response of an uncertain composite truss, is studied by means of the proposed method: the full statistics of the truss response variables are calculated by Monte-Carlo based simulations and compared to those obtained by perturbative approximated approaches. The implications of the results here obtained onto the design strategy of structures affected by sensible uncertainty levels, as those made of composites, are discussed.