Optimizing the design of large deployable mesh reflectors in presence of manufacturing defects

Abstract Large Deployable Reflector (LDR) antennas and in particular mesh reflectors, have known an increasing demand for space applications in recent years. Once deployed, they exhibit considerable flexibility and are characterized by strong geometric nonlinearity featuring a large sensitivity to variations in cable lengths. Consequently, even minor manufacturing and assembly errors in cable lengths can lead to a degradation of the surface accuracy. This paper aims at developing a robust optimal design strategy for mesh reflectors, mitigating the negative effects on reflector surface precision caused by the unavoidable discrepancies in cable lengths during manufacturing. The proposed methodology exploits the linearity of Force Density Method (FDM)-based equilibrium equations, deriving the static shape of the antenna after the introduction of design variations based on the Monte Carlo method. The present approach allows to identify effective and stable optimal designs which can accurately meet the required performances in presence of manufacturing and assembly-induced imperfections.