Vibration reduction control by a cable actuation system for reflector antenna

Abstract

Vibration deformation of a reflector antenna under a moving load will reduce pointing performance. Current vibration suppression technology for reflector antennas, such as the application of mesh reflector antennas, the construction of large radomes, the use of antennas with high stiffness, and the improvement of the shaft servo systems, can reduce the impact of vibrations. However, the disadvantages of high-frequency transmission, high cost, increased weight, and servo bandwidth limitations, are unavoidable. A cable actuation system is proposed as a method for reducing the vibration of reflector antennas while having little influence on the original structure. In this method, the acceleration of the reflector is measured, and an unbiased minimum variance estimator of the system state is introduced to observe the vibration state of the reflector. Then using the LQR approach, drivers on the slide rail pull the cables to suppress the vibration of the reflector. Moreover, the position of the drivers on the slide rail can be adjusted depending on the moving load condition. Finally, the experimental results show that the vibration time of the reflector without control was approximately 7 s, while the vibration time of the reflector with control was reduced to approximately 1 s when the pendulum fell from the same height to excite the reflector.