Beamforming Design of a Mesh Reflector Antenna With Novel Structural Configurations

This article presents a beamforming design approach considering energy utilization and a multilayer self-balance cable net structural configuration to improve the beamforming capability of the mesh reflector antenna. First, considering the cable-beam–membrane interaction, the integrated equilibrium equation of the antenna is established. By deducing the tangent stiffness matrix, the integrated equilibrium equation is solved using the numerical Newton-Raphson method, which can capture a more actual reflective surface morphology of the antenna. Secondly, the relationship between the electromagnetic performance and geometry parameters is established using the physical optics method. Third, a beamforming design approach considering energy utilization is proposed, and a multilayer self-balance cable net configuration is designed to achieve concave-convex surface morphology for improving the beamforming capability of the mesh reflector antenna. Finally, the multilayer self-balance cable net configuration is effectively applied to the beamforming design for the Continental United States, and the feasibility and effectiveness are demonstrated.