Static analysis of synchronism deployable antenna

A 3D synchronism deployable antenna was designed, analyzed, and manufactured by our research group. This antenna consists oftetrahedral elements from central element. Because there are springs at the ends of some of the rods, spider joints are applied. For analysis purpose, the structure is simplified and modelled by using 2D beam elements that have no bending stiffness. Displacement vectors are defined to include two translational displacements and one torsional displacement. The stiffness matrix derived by this method is relatively simple and well defined. The analysis results generated by using software developed by our research group agreed very well with available test data.