Simulation analysis of effective reflector area extension in umbrella antennas

Abstract The umbrella antenna, renowned for its high precision, rigidity, and reliability in deployment and retraction, is one of the most widely used spatial deployable antenna configurations in spacecraft. Traditional designs typically include an indented boundary rope net to counteract the inward force exerted by the metal mesh. However, this design choice, unfortunately, reduces the reflector’s effective area, subsequently decreasing the antenna’s gain. This paper offers a comprehensive summary and analysis of methods aimed at enhancing the effective reflective surface area of umbrella antennas. Through modeling and simulation, the study explores an umbrella antenna design enhanced with additional boundary support, detailing the expansion at the boundary through varying numbers of rib tubes. A comparative analysis of the effective reflective surface area before and after the expansion demonstrates that the incorporation of supporting structures significantly increases the utilization rate of the reflector’s geometric area.