• Journal of Aerospace System Engineering
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.81-89
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• 2024

Recently, both volumes and weights of antennas are increasing because of advancement of satellite missions. Research studies on mesh deployable antennas that can be highly stowable and lightweight are also increasing. When a deployable mesh antenna is subjected to repeated deployment tests on the ground, vibration of launch environments can cause slip between the antenna structure and the mesh fabric, resulting in failure to maintain the surface curvature of the antenna and Openning Per Inch (OPI). Such failure is the main cause of RF performance and mission capability degradation. Thus, studying a fastening technique to prevent slip between the antenna structure and mesh fabric is essential. This study proposed a Clamping fastening technique using rivets between the antenna structure and the mesh fabric. To evaluate the fastening efficiency of the Clamping fastening technique, tensile tests were conducted according to antenna structure type and rivet increment. Results were analyzed and fastening efficiency of the proposed clamping fastening technique was verified.