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High surface accuracy design of the electrostatically controlled deployable membrane antenna based on a thermoplastic forming method

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Abstract

There are significant theoretical and manufacturing errors when multiple planar diaphragms are pieced together to create large-diameter, high-curvature membrane reflectors. To address this challenge, a thermoplastic forming technique for creating doubly curved paraboloid membrane reflectors for the Electrostatically Controlled Deployable Membrane Antenna (ECDMA) is proposed. Initially, a creep model for the membrane reflector is developed using finite element analysis, and creep parameters of the membrane are determined through experimental testing. To validate the effectiveness of this thermoplastic forming technique, simulations and experiments are conducted on a membrane reflector with a diameter of 0.3 m. It is evident that the simulation results have good prediction for experiment results with errors under 5%. Furthermore, this method has been applied to a 2-m ECDMA prototype, demonstrating a surface accuracy improvement of over 70%.

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Data availability

Replication of results: The results presented in this study can be replicated by implementing the formulas and data structures presented in this study. The code and data for producing the presented results will be made available by request.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Sciences Foundation of China (Nos: 52022075, U2241247 & 52005277), the Science and Technology Support Plan for Youth Innovation of Colleges and Universities of Shandong Province of China, and we also would like to express our gratitude to the staff of the Research Institute on Mechatronics, Xi'dian University, China, for their assistance in the experiments in this paper.

Funding

The Funding was provided by National Natural Sciences Foundation of China, 52005277, Yongzhen Gu

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Qingdao University of Science and Technology, Qingdao, 266061, Shandong, China

    Yongzhen Gu, Xiao Yu, Qinggang Zhang, Guixu Li, Lupeng Wu & Qingdang Li

  2. Shandong Zhongji Intelligent Equipment Co Ltd,, Yantai, 264000, Shandong, China

    Xuehu Cheng

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  1. Yongzhen Gu
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  2. Xiao Yu
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  3. Qinggang Zhang
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  4. Guixu Li
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  5. Lupeng Wu
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  7. Qingdang Li
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Correspondence to Yongzhen Gu.

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Technical Editor: Samikkannu Raja.

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Gu, Y., Yu, X., Zhang, Q. et al. High surface accuracy design of the electrostatically controlled deployable membrane antenna based on a thermoplastic forming method. J Braz. Soc. Mech. Sci. Eng. 46, 244 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40430-024-04831-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40430-024-04831-z

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