Abstract: The hinges in a hinge mechanism are movable components，which make the modeling and analysis of the solar cell array very difficult. This paper proposes a method to solve this problem, which uses the stiffness of the hinge mechanism measured from tests in the finite element model of a solar cell array. The stiffness of the solar cell array obtained from the model is compared with that of the test，to obtain the equivalent stiffness of the hinge mechanism. By using this method, the precision of the modeling and analysis of the solar cell array are greatly improved.