Design of a Piezoelectric Point Actuated Active Aperture Antenna

Abstract

In this research, the design of a piezoelectric point actuated active aperture antenna is introduced. The antenna consists of numerous piezoelectric point actuators placed perpendicular to the doubly curved aperture. The point actuators are comprised of a piezoelectric element and a stick-slip mechanism used to generate motion. A specially designed code that takes into account the mechanical and electromagnetic effects is used to determine the desired shape of the aperture. The final shape of the aperture is verified using stereo photogrammetry.