Development of a Novel Double-Ring Deployable Mesh Antenna

Abstract

This paper addresses a type of deployable mesh antenna consisting of the double-ring deployable truss edge frame and the cable net reflector. The structural design concept of the deployable antennas is presented. The deployable truss is designed and the geometric relationship of each strut length is formulated. Two types of radial truss elements are described and compared. The joint pattern and the active cables of the final design concept are determined. The pattern of the cable net is the three-orientation grid. Two connection schemes between the reflector and the deployable edge frame are investigated. The design parameters and the shape adjustment mechanism of this cable net are determined. The measurement test technologies of the antennas on the ground including test facilities, deployment test, and measurement and adjustment test are proposed. The antenna patterns are analyzed based on the real surfaces of the reflector obtained by the reflective surface accuracy measurement. The tests and analytic results indicated that the accuracy of the reflective surface is high and is suitable for low-frequency communication.

Design and Dynamic Equivalent Modeling of Double-Layer Hoop Deployable Antenna

“…By taking the coordinate values of each middle point in the yoz plane into (10), we can obtain the axial strain expressions of vertical bars (1-4), cables (5-12), cranks (13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20), rails (21)(22)(23)(24), and central connecting rods (25)(26)(27)(28) as follows:…”

“…You et al [14] proposed a hoop mechanism with double-layer scissor hinge. Yan et al [15][16][17] proposed a new configuration of a doublelayer deployable antenna mechanism and studied the dynamic characteristics of its deployment process. Qi et al [18,19] proposed a large deployable mechanism based on plane-symmetric Bricard linkage and a novel large ring deployable mechanism based on a six-bar linkage unit.…”

Modelling and Structural Design for Parallel Umbrella‐Shaped Cable‐Strut Structures Based on Stationary Potential Energy Principles

“…A PUSC is a double-layer cable-strut roof system, and each substructure of a PUSC is a triangular cable net with one central compressive strut. Due to their long spans, high clearances, low construction costs, and elegant shapes, PUSCs have been widely used in various large-span projects, such as the AstroMesh antennas [3] and the roof of the Sony Centre in Berlin's Potsdamer Square [4].…”

Deployment analysis and optimization of a flexible deployable structure for large synthetic aperture radar antennas

“…These problems have gained a great deal of attention related to deployment analysis of deployable structures for space applications. [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23] However, despite such effort, little attention has been given to deployment analysis of large SAR antenna considering flexibility, which is an important intrinsic property of such a large structure.…”