Satellite antenna dynamics and control with thermal effect

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyze the effect of the space thermal effect on satellite antenna. Design/methodology/approach – In this paper, according to the geometric characteristics of parabolic reflector, the transient temperature field of an element along its thickness direction is built for shell structures using finite element discretization and the quadratic function interpolation, and heat conduction equations are derived based on the theory of the thermo-elastic dynamics. The modeling theory of rigid–flexible coupling system considering thermal effect is extended to the satellite antenna system. Then, the coupling dynamic equations are established including coupling stiffness matrix and thermal loaded undergoing a large overall motion. Finally, an adaptive controller is proposed and the adaptive update laws are designed under the parameter uncertainty. Findings – The results of dynamic characteristic analysis show that the dynamic thermal loaded coupled with structure deformation i...