Design and Analysis of a Truss Deployable Antenna Mechanism Based on Scissors Hexagonal Frustum Units

The truss deployable mechanism is widely used in large aperture space antennas. A modular truss deployable antenna mechanism based on a scissors hexagonal frustum unit is presented in this article. The scissors hexagonal frustum unit is designed based on the motion diagram of antenna hexagonal networking. The degree of freedom (DOF) of the antenna mechanism is calculated according to screw theory and screw constraint topology, and the instantaneity judgment of the mechanism shows that the mechanism has only one DOF. The kinematic model is established by Lie algebra operation and screw theory, the dynamic model of the mechanism is established by Lagrange equation, and the results of kinematics and dynamics were verified by Adams software. In addition, the networking model of antenna structure and 3-D model of modular antenna mechanism including three units are established. Finally, the prototype of the scissors hexagonal frustum mechanism is constructed, and a deployment experiment is conducted. The mechanism proposed in this article provides a reference for truss deployable antennas and has potential application value in large high-reliability deployable antennas.