Abstract:
This paper addresses the surface generation of electrostatically formed paraboloid membrane reflectors by cutting and seaming planar membrane gores. Since the paraboloid reflector is an undevelopable surface, it is usually manufactured with many planar gores, which inevitably decreases the precision of the reflector surface. Therefore, the effect of the cutting pattern and seaming process on the reflector surface precision must be carefully analyzed to achieve the desired surface precision. Based on the membrane theory of rotating paraboloid, the reflector model in its working state is established. Then, the reflector is discretized by a constant strain triangular element, and the finite element model of flattening and seaming of a reflector is established. The reflector is divided into several groups with different numbers of subsurfaces, and the influence of design errors is analyzed by a numerical simulation of the whole process. Finally, a 0.55 m aperture membrane reflector is manufactured, and photogrammetric experiments are carried out. The effectiveness of the method is thusly verified, and the influence of manufacturing error is discussed.