Design and dynamic analysis of a scissors hoop-rib truss deployable antenna mechanism

As the support mechanism of space-borne antennas,space deployable antenna mechanism belongs to complex multi-closed-loop coupling mechanism,configuration design and dynamic analysis are more difficult than general parallel mechanism.In this paper,an unequal-length scissors mechanism(ULSM)is proposed by changing the position of the internal rotational joint through a basic scissors mechanism.A scissors hoop-rib truss deployable antenna mechanism(SHRTDAM)is constructed by replacing the parabolic rib with the ULSM.Kinematic analysis of SHRTDAM is conducted,and the degree of freedom(DOF)of the whole antenna mechanism is analyzed based on screw theory,the result showed that it has only one DOF.Velocity and acceleration characteristics of SHRTDAM are obtained by the screw derivative and rotation transformation.Based on Lagrange equation,dynamic model of this mechanism is established,the torque required to drive the mechanism is simulated and verified by Adams and MATLAB software.In addition,a ground experiment prototype of 1.5-m diameter was fabricated and a deployment test is conducted,which demonstrated the mobility and deployment performance of the whole mechanism.The mechanism proposed in this paper can provide a good reference for the design and analysis of large aperture space deployable antennas.

A Combined Antenna Array Deployment with High Positioning Accuracy and Low Angular Measurement Error

In this paper,an antenna array composed of circular array and orthogonal linear array is proposed by using the design of long and short baseline“orthogonal linear array”and the circular array ambiguity resolution design of multi-group baseline clustering.The effectiveness of the antenna array in this paper is verified by sufficient simulation and experiment.After the system deviation correction work,it is found that in the L/S/C/X frequency bands,the ambiguity resolution probability is high,and the phase difference system error between each channel is basically the same.The angle measurement error is less than 0.5°,and the positioning error is less than 2.5 km.Notably,as the center frequency increases,calibration consistency improves,and the calibration frequency points become applicable over a wider frequency range.At a center frequency of 11.5 GHz,the calibration frequency point bandwidth extends to 1200 MHz.This combined antenna array deployment holds significant promise for a wide range of applications in contemporary wireless communication systems.

Design and Kinematics Analysis of Support Structure for Multi-Configuration Rigid-Flexible Coupled Modular Deployable Antenna

In order to meet the urgent need for diversified and multi-functional deployable antennas in many major national aerospace projects,such as interstellar exploration,the fourth phase of lunar exploration project,and the industrial application of Bei Dou,a deployable antenna structure composed of hexagonal prism and pentagonal prism modules is proposed.Firstly,the arrangement and combination rules of pentagonal prism and hexagonal prism modules on the plane were analyzed.Secondly,the spatial geometric model of the deployable antenna composed of pentagonal prism and hexagonal prism modules was established.The influence of module size on the antenna shape was then analyzed,and the kinematic model of the deployable antenna established by coordinate transformation.Finally,the above model was verified using MATLAB software.The simulation results showed that the proposed modular deployable antenna structure can realize accurate connection between modules,complete the expected deployment and folding functional requirements.It is hoped that this research can provide reference for the basic research and engineering application of deployable antennas in China.

Deployable Antenna with Compact Ortho-mode Transducer and Feeding Systems

The compact ortho-mode transducer (OMT) and compact conical corrugated horn(CCCH) are used as feeding system of the deployable dual polarizing antenna in this paper.A new stricture of double-septum in main wave guide OMT is proposed. The finite difference method in time domain (FDTD) in combination with genetic algorithms(GAs) is used to analysis and optimize this new OMT. The experiment results show that the voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR) of this OMT and feeding system is less than 1.17 in bandwidth; the isolation between the ortho-mode ports is less than -40dB; the cross-polar level of the feed can reach -35dB and the length of the main waveguide can be reduced 50% at least.

Optimizing accuracy of a parabolic cylindrical deployable antenna mechanism based on stiffness analysis

Accuracy of the fitted surface is of great importance to the performance of deployable antennas utilized in space.This paper proposes a stiffness analysis based fitting accuracy optimization method for achieving the optimal parameters of the parabolic cylindrical deployable antenna mechanism.The stiffness matrix of the proposed cylindrical antenna mechanism is established by assembling the stiffness of beams and tension cables.Structural deformations of the mechanism are calculated where the tensioned cable is substituted by a 2-node truss element and an equivalent force acting on the joint.Consideration of the tensity of tension cables,namely tensioned or slack,is transformed into a typical linear complementarity problem.Comparison between structural deformations of the mechanism fixed at different points is performed.Sensitivities of the geometric and structural parameters on fitting accuracy are investigated.Influence of force of the driven cable on structural deformations of antenna operated in different orbits is conducted.A fitting optimization method is proposed to minimize the structural deformations subject to constraints on volume and mass.Simulation result shows that the fitting accuracy of the antenna mechanism is improved significantly through the optimization.The proposed method can be utilized for the optimal design of other deployable mechanisms constructed by joining rigid links.

Deploying process modeling and attitude control of a satellite with a large deployable antenna

Modeling and attitude control methods for a satellite with a large deployable antenna are studied in the present paper. Firstly, for reducing the model dimension, three dynamic models for the deploying process are developed, which are built with the methods of multi-rigid-body dynam- ics, hybrid coordinate and substructure. Then an attitude control method suitable for the deploying process is proposed, which can keep stability under any dynamical parameter variation. Subse- quently, this attitude control is optimized to minimize attitude disturbance during the deploying process. The simulation results show that this attitude control method can keep stability and main- tain proper attitude variation during the deploying process, which indicates that this attitude con- trol method is suitable for practical applications.

Design and analysis of truss deployable antenna mechanism based on a novel symmetric hexagonal profile division method

As the deployment,supporting,and stability mechanisms of satellite antennas,space-deployable mechanisms play a key role in the field of aerospace.In order to design truss deployable antenna supporting mechanisms with large folding rate,high accuracy,easy deployment and strong stability,aiming at the geometric division of the parabolic reflector,a novel method based on symmetric hexagonal division and its corresponding modular truss deployable antenna mechanism is proposed,and the original method based on asymmetric triangular division and its corresponding mechanisms are presented for comparative analysis.Then,the screw theory is employed to analyze the mobility of different mechanisms.Furthermore,the improved three-dimensional mesh method is used to divide the reflector surface of a large parabolic antenna designed by the two different methods,and the profile accuracy and the type of links are taken as the evaluation indexes to quantitatively analyze the division results.Finally,a three-dimensional model of the modular deployable mechanism based on the symmetric hexagonal design is developed,and the deployable mechanisms with different configurations based on the two design methods are compared and analyzed from the mechanical perspective.The research results provide a good theoretical reference for the design of deployable truss antenna mechanisms and their application in the aerospace field.

Design and analysis of a truss deployable antenna mechanism based on a 3UU-3URU unit

Space deployable structures with large calibers, high accuracy, and large folding ratios are indispensable equipment in the aerospace field. Given that the single-DOF 3 RR-3 RRR deployable unit cannot be fully folded, this study proposes a 3 UU-3 URU deployable unit with two kinds of DOF: folding movement and orientation adjustment. First, based on the G-K formula, the DOF of the 3 UU-3 URU unit is analyzed. Then, the 3 UU-3 URU unit is used to construct a deployable truss antenna with a curved surface, and the DOF of the whole deployable antenna containing multiple 3 UU-3 URU units is calculated. The structural design of a deployable antenna with two loops is carried out with specific parameters and geometric relations. Next, a DOF simulation of a basic combination unit composed of three 3 UU-3 URU units is performed. Finally, a prototype of the basic combination unit is manufactured, and the DOF of the mechanism is experimentally verified.