Experimental Investigation of Deployment Process of Large Hoop Truss Antenna for Space
Publication: Journal of Aerospace Engineering
Volume 37, Issue 3
Abstract
Large hoop truss antennas are locked into a stable structure during deployment in space. The key to characterizing the performance of each mechanism, and discovering problems in the deployment process, is the three-dimensional motion of the antenna. Therefore, it is important to measure antenna motion with high precision for antenna design. Contact measurement requires sensors to be attached to the object, affecting the motion of the antenna; thus, noncontact measurement is the preferred measurement method. For a large antenna, a large field of view and observation angle are required to measure the deployment process. Traditional binocular stereo vision measurement is not sufficiently accurate. In this paper, 36 cameras were combined into an array to measure antenna deployment. A high-precision triggering system was designed, a calibration method suitable for large-scale, multiangle measurement was developed, and a reconstruction method based on the geometric constraints was proposed, greatly improving measurement resolution. The camera array was used to measure the motion of a large hoop truss antenna with a diameter of 4 m during deployment. Based on the measured parameters, the angular velocity of each antenna mechanism was calculated, and the synchronization of the antenna structure was analyzed.
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Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code generated or used during the study are proprietary or confidential in nature and may only be provided with restrictions.
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 11772053 and 11727801). Thank you for the help by Prof. Qiang Tian in the analysis and experimental study of antenna dynamic behavior during this research work.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Aerospace Engineering
Volume 37 • Issue 3 • May 2024
Copyright
© 2024 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Mar 19, 2023
Accepted: Sep 21, 2023
Published online: Jan 31, 2024
Published in print: May 1, 2024
Discussion open until: Jun 30, 2024
ASCE Technical Topics:
- Aerospace engineering
- Antennas
- Cameras
- Communication systems
- Continuum mechanics
- Design (by type)
- Dynamics (solid mechanics)
- Engineering fundamentals
- Engineering mechanics
- Equipment and machinery
- Highway and road design
- Infrastructure
- Lifeline systems
- Motion (dynamics)
- Probe instruments
- Solid mechanics
- Space colonies
- Space structures
- Space truss
- Structural engineering
- Structural members
- Structural systems
- Trusses
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