Design, Fabrication, and Testing of Active Skin Antenna with 3D Printing Array Framework
An active skin antenna with structural load-bearing and electromagnetic functions is usually installed in the structural surface of mobile vehicles such as aircrafts, warships, and high-speed train. This paper presents the design, fabrication, and testing of a novel active skin antenna which consist...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley
2017-01-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Antennas and Propagation |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2017/7516323 |
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| _version_ | 1832564519280312320 |
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| author | Jinzhu Zhou Haitao Li Le Kang Baofu Tang Jin Huang Zhiheng Cai |
| author_facet | Jinzhu Zhou Haitao Li Le Kang Baofu Tang Jin Huang Zhiheng Cai |
| author_sort | Jinzhu Zhou |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | An active skin antenna with structural load-bearing and electromagnetic functions is usually installed in the structural surface of mobile vehicles such as aircrafts, warships, and high-speed train. This paper presents the design, fabrication, and testing of a novel active skin antenna which consists of an encapsulation shell, antenna skin, and RF and beam control circuits. The antenna skin which consists of the facesheet, honeycomb, array framework, and microstrip antenna elements was designed by using Bayesian optimization, in order to improve the design efficiency. An active skin antenna prototype with 32 microstrip antenna elements was fabricated by using a hybrid manufacturing method. In this method, 3D printing technology was applied to fabricate the array framework, and the different layers were bonded to form the final antenna skin by using traditional composite process. Some experimental testing was conducted, and the testing results validate the feasibility the proposed antenna skin structure. The proposed design and fabrication technique is suitable for the development of conformal load-bearing antenna or smart skin antenna installed in the structural surface of aircraft, warships, and armored vehicles. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-105ef8a60c664221acf5520ba614d44c |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1687-5869 1687-5877 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2017-01-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Journal of Antennas and Propagation |
| spelling | doaj-art-105ef8a60c664221acf5520ba614d44c2025-02-03T01:10:42ZengWileyInternational Journal of Antennas and Propagation1687-58691687-58772017-01-01201710.1155/2017/75163237516323Design, Fabrication, and Testing of Active Skin Antenna with 3D Printing Array FrameworkJinzhu Zhou0Haitao Li1Le Kang2Baofu Tang3Jin Huang4Zhiheng Cai5Key Laboratory of Electronic Equipment Structure Design, Ministry of Education, Xidian University, Xi’an 710071, ChinaKey Laboratory of Electronic Equipment Structure Design, Ministry of Education, Xidian University, Xi’an 710071, ChinaNational Key Laboratory of Antennas and Microwave Technology, Xidian University, Xi’an 710071, ChinaNanjing Research Institute of Electronic Technology, Nanjing 210039, ChinaKey Laboratory of Electronic Equipment Structure Design, Ministry of Education, Xidian University, Xi’an 710071, ChinaKey Laboratory of Electronic Equipment Structure Design, Ministry of Education, Xidian University, Xi’an 710071, ChinaAn active skin antenna with structural load-bearing and electromagnetic functions is usually installed in the structural surface of mobile vehicles such as aircrafts, warships, and high-speed train. This paper presents the design, fabrication, and testing of a novel active skin antenna which consists of an encapsulation shell, antenna skin, and RF and beam control circuits. The antenna skin which consists of the facesheet, honeycomb, array framework, and microstrip antenna elements was designed by using Bayesian optimization, in order to improve the design efficiency. An active skin antenna prototype with 32 microstrip antenna elements was fabricated by using a hybrid manufacturing method. In this method, 3D printing technology was applied to fabricate the array framework, and the different layers were bonded to form the final antenna skin by using traditional composite process. Some experimental testing was conducted, and the testing results validate the feasibility the proposed antenna skin structure. The proposed design and fabrication technique is suitable for the development of conformal load-bearing antenna or smart skin antenna installed in the structural surface of aircraft, warships, and armored vehicles.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2017/7516323 |
| spellingShingle | Jinzhu Zhou Haitao Li Le Kang Baofu Tang Jin Huang Zhiheng Cai Design, Fabrication, and Testing of Active Skin Antenna with 3D Printing Array Framework International Journal of Antennas and Propagation |
| title | Design, Fabrication, and Testing of Active Skin Antenna with 3D Printing Array Framework |
| title_full | Design, Fabrication, and Testing of Active Skin Antenna with 3D Printing Array Framework |
| title_fullStr | Design, Fabrication, and Testing of Active Skin Antenna with 3D Printing Array Framework |
| title_full_unstemmed | Design, Fabrication, and Testing of Active Skin Antenna with 3D Printing Array Framework |
| title_short | Design, Fabrication, and Testing of Active Skin Antenna with 3D Printing Array Framework |
| title_sort | design fabrication and testing of active skin antenna with 3d printing array framework |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2017/7516323 |
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