Deployable structures are mobile assemblies which do not aim motion but to attain different configurations depending on the service requirements. These structures are widely used in space applications due to storage limitations of the launch vehicles. The large diversity of design alternatives should be evaluated in design of deployable parts of spacecrafts. This study aims to present design alternatives of antennas, masts and solar panels of space devices. Also use of spatial linkages in deployable structure designs is discussed.

Deployable space structures

Design of tensegrity structures for supporting deployable mesh antennas

Type synthesis of deployable mechanisms for ring truss antenna based on constraint-synthesis method

Structural design and dynamic analysis of new ultra-large planar deployable antennas in space with locking systems

Cable-truss hybrid double-layer deployable mechanical network constructed of Bennett linkages and planar symmetric four-bar linkages

A bidirectional deployable parabolic cylindrical reflector for an L-band synthetic aperture radar is presented in this study, in which a self-deployed antenna with low weight was designed. The antenna consists of four curved surfaces formed from thin sheets of composite materials connected by hinges along the edges, and the reflective surface is provided by the front surface. The edge profiles of connecting lines were obtained through geometric analysis. A scaled model, including design and manufacture, was demonstrated to validate the process from the folded state to the fully deployed state. The non-contact synchronous vision measuring method was used to test the basic frequency of the scaled model, and the test results gave the verification of the analyses. Compared with the existing unidirectional deployable antenna, this new type of bidirectional deployable antenna can be applied to larger-size antennas and has better performance because the glass-woven tape connections were substituted with more reliable hinges. Static, modal, harmonic response, and transient response analyses of the full-sized reflector structure were modeled with the commercial finite element (FE) package ABAQUS. The modeling techniques were developed to predict the structural dynamic behavior of the reflector and the results showed that the first natural frequency was 0.865 Hz, and the reflector structure had good stiffness in three directions. This proposed structure has very high stiffness-to-mass ratio because of its hollow solid construction. A preliminary simulation of radiation properties of the parabolic cylindrical antenna, fed by an off-set linear feed horn array, was conducted to obtain the radiation pattern of the feed and the reflector.

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Design and analysis of bidirectional deployable parabolic cylindrical antenna

A 3D synchronism deployable antenna was designed, analyzed, and manufactured by our research group. This antenna consists of tetrahedral elements from central element. Because there are springs at the ends of some of the rods, spider joints are applied. For analysis purpose, the structure is simplified and modelled by using 2D beam elements that have no bending stiffness. Displacement vectors are defined to include two translational displacements and one torsional displacement. The stiffness matrix derived by this method is relatively simple and well defined. The analysis results generated by using software developed by our research group agreed very well with available test data.

Static analysis of synchronism deployable antenna

A 3-dimensions synchronism deployable antenna had been designed, analyzed, and manufactured by our research group. This antenna consists of tetrahedral elements from central element. Because there are springs at the ends of some of the rods, spider joints are applied. For analysis purpose, the structure is simplified and modeled by using two dimensional beam elements that have no bending stiffness. Displacement vectors are defined to include two translational displacements and one torsional displacement. The stiffness matrix derived by this method is relatively simple and well defined. The analysis results generated by using software developed by our research group, agreed very well with available test data.

Fu-ling Guan

Papers

Design and analysis of bidirectional deployable parabolic cylindrical antenna

Static analysis of synchronism deployable antenna

Static analysis of synchronism deployable antenna