An Effective Form Analysis Approach for Designing and Optimizing a Cable-Net Structure of a Giant Active Reflector

The cable-net structure of a giant active reflector is a structure with large deformations. The effective form analysis approach can help the active reflector to achieve high surface accuracy. In this paper, a new nonlinear numerical form analysis approach is proposed for the active reflector cable-net structure. The basic principle and calculation flow of the static equilibrium are provided and the calculation program is compiled. This approach does not only achieve a uniform cable tension design based on the idea of “equal-tension replacement” but also simulates the change process from the reference state to the target working state. The obtained final form conforms to the target configuration and achieves the force balance. This, in turn, proves the adaptability of the proposed approach for the design and optimization of active reflector cable-net structure. By employing the form analysis, the length change of actuators and force distribution of all cables can also be simultaneously obtained. This provides an important basis for the actual operation and control optimization of similar active reflectors.