<title>Design and testing of an active polyvinylidene fluoride aperture antenna</title>

Abstract

Recent studies have shown that reflector surface adaptation can achieve performance characteristics on the order of some phase array antennas without the complexity and cost. The work presented in this study develops the experimental groundwork for a class of antennas capable of variable directivity (beam steering) and power density (beam shaping) The actuation for these antennas is employed by bonding polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) film to a metalized mylar substrate. A voltage drop across the material will cause the material to expand or contract. This movement causes a moment to be developed in the structure which causes structural bending. Several studies of flexible structures with PVDF films have shown that cylindrical antennas can achieve significant deflections and thereby offer beneficial changes to radiation patterns emanating from aperture antennas. In this study, relatively large curved actuators are modeled and a deflection vs. force relationship is developed. This relationship is then simulated and compared to experimental results. A final simulation of the far field radiation patterns from a given set of deflections is then presented.