Surface Design Method Incorporating Compression Members for Cable-Mesh Reflectors

The tension truss antenna structure is an effective architecture for large and high-precision parabolic reflectors. Here a parabolic surface is approximated by planar triangular facets formed using cables. However, as the surface area increases or the required accuracy increases, the stiffness of the support structure must also increase to prevent its deformation under the increasing strain energy in the cables. This paper proposes a new conceptual cable network for forming parabolic surfaces with low strain energy. Instead of cables, compression members are installed at the rim of the surface so that the strain energy of the cable network is reduced. In this concept, a weight reduction of approximately 25% is possible for the support structure. This design is compared with a conventional cable network, and it is shown that the proposed design is useful in constructing higher-accuracy surface antennas and larger antenna reflectors with lower weight.