Vol. 1 (2025)

Articles

Optimal Sensor Placement Design for High-Fidelity Deformation Measurement of Spaceborne Antenna

Published 2025-11-24

  • Yongxi He
    • ,
  • Songsheng Wang
    • ,
  • Ye Liang
    • ,
  • Xuechao Duan

Yongxi He
State Key Laboratory of Electromechanical Coupling, Xidian University, Xi’an 710071, China

Songsheng Wang
State Key Laboratory of Electromechanical Coupling, Xidian University, Xi’an 710071, China

Ye Liang
State Key Laboratory of Electromechanical Coupling, Xidian University, Xi’an 710071, China

Xuechao Duan
State Key Laboratory of Electromechanical Coupling, Xidian University, Xi’an 710071, China

Abstract

Spaceborne antennas are critical for high-precision communication between satellites and spacecraft. Their in-orbit reflective surfaces are susceptible to deformation under thermal loads and radiation exposure, leading to degraded electrical performance. Conventional deformation monitoring methods are limited by environmental sensitivity and system complexity, making accurate surface reconstruction challenging. This study presents a method for measuring and reconstructing antenna reflective surfaces using fiber Bragg grating (FBG) shape sensing technology. A structural model of the peripheral truss-cable net antenna is developed, and the Frenet-Serret curvature reconstruction algorithm is applied to recover surface geometry. An optimization model is further introduced to determine the optimal spatial distribution of sensors for a given number. The reconstructed surface based on the optimized layout is compared with the theoretical ideal surface. Results show that under optimized placement, reconstruction error decreases from 0.03 m to 0.01 m as sensor count increases from 3 to 15, eventually stabilizing. Marginal improvement analysis indicates that accuracy gains diminish beyond 10 sensors, suggesting a saturation effect. These results confirm the effectiveness of the proposed approach and provide a robust theoretical basis and practical guidance for sensor deployment in on-orbit monitoring of spaceborne antenna deformation.

Keywords

Cable-net antenna, Antenna shape measurement, Deformation reconstruction, Layout optimization, Shape sensor

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