Mechanical study on initial profile solution for inflatable reflector made of orthotropic material

The woven fabric membrane materials are widely used in space and terrestrial inflatable reflectors. However the material's anisotropy makes the design analysis more complex. The deviation from the desired shape, so-called "W-profile error", influences the precision of the membrane surface significantly. In this study, a model of an axisymmetric paraboloid surface using membrane theory is established for the purpose of facilitating the surface precision optimization. Analytical solutions for displacements of the reflector are derived. An iteration method of initial reflector profile solution is stated and a finite element (FE) software employed in the solution is presented. A case study is illustrated to make a comparison between numerical and theoretical analyses. Finally, the conclusions are drawn that the analytical method and the FE iterative method for initial profile solution are feasible and efficient. (C) 2014 IAA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.