Active panels are generally applied in large aperture and high-frequency reflector antennas, and the precise calculation of the actuator adjustment value is of great importance. First, the approximation relationship between the adjustment value and panel elastic deformation is established. Subsequently, a panel adjustment matrix for the whole reflector is derived to calculate the reflector deformation caused by the actuator adjustment. Next, the root mean square (rms) error of the deformed reflector is expressed as a quadratic form in the matrix form, and the adjustment value can be derived easily and promptly from the corresponding extreme value. The solution is expected to be unique and optimal since the aforementioned quadratic form is a convex function. Finally, a 35 m reflector antenna is adopted to perform the panel adjustments, and the effect of the adjustment errors is discussed. The results show that compared with the traditional model, where the panel elastic deformation is not considered, the proposed method exhibits a higher accuracy and is more suitable for use in large reflectors with a high operation frequency. The adjustment errors in different rings exert different influences on the gain and sidelobe level, which can help determine the actuator distribution with different precisions.

With the development of large‐aperture and high‐frequency radio telescopes, a surface adjustment procedure for the compensation of surface deformations has become of great importance. In this study, an innovative surface adjustment strategy is proposed to achieve an automated adjustment for the large radio telescope with adjustable dual reflectors. In the proposed strategy, a high‐precision and long‐distance measurement instrument is adopted and installed on the back of the sub‐reflector to measure the distances and elevation angles of the target points on the main reflector. Here, two surface adjustment purposes are discussed. The first purpose is to ensure that the main reflector and sub‐reflector are always positioned at their ideal locations during operation. The second purpose is to adjust the main reflector to the location of the best fitting reflector, and the sub‐reflector to the focus of the best fitting reflector. Next, the calculation procedures for the adjustments of the main reflector and the sub‐reflector are discussed in detail, and corresponding simulations are carried out to verify the proposed method. The results show that the proposed strategy is effective. This study can provide helpful guidance for the design of automated surface adjustments for large telescopes.

Physical deformation due to service loads seriously degrades the electromagnetic performance of active phased array antennas. However, traditional displacement-based compensation methods are moderately difficult to use because displacement measurements generally require stable references, which are hard to realize for antennas in service. For deformed antennas, strain information is directly related to their displacement, and strain sensors can overcome carrier platform constraints to measure real-time strain without affecting the antenna radiation-field distribution. We thus present a compensation method based on strain information for in-service antennas. First, the minimum number of strain sensors is determined as the main modal-order-based modal effective mass fraction. According to the modal method and analysis of spatial phase-distribution errors related to strain, a coupled strain-electromagnetic model is established to evaluate antenna performance from the measured strain. The corresponding excitation phase from the measured strain is adjusted to compensate antenna performance. Finally, the method is experimentally validated using an X-band active phased array antenna under the influence of typical deformation conditions for both boresight and scanned beams. The results demonstrate that the presented method can effectively compensate for the performance of service antennas directly from the measured strain information.

With the advancement trend of lower limb prosthetics headed towards bionics (active ankle and knee) and smart prosthetics (gait and condition monitoring), there is an increasing integration of various sensors (micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) accelerometers, gyroscopes, magnetometers, strain gauges, pressure sensors, etc.), microcontrollers and wireless systems, and power drives including motors and actuators. All of these active elements require electrical power. However, inclusion of a heavy and bulky battery risks to undo the lightweight advancements achieved by the strong and flexible composite materials in the past decades. Kinetic energy harvesting holds the promise to recharge a small on-board battery in order to sustain the active systems without sacrificing weight and size. However, careful design is required in order not to over-burden the user from parasitic effects. This paper presents a feasibility study using measured gait data and numerical simulation in order to predict the available recoverable power. The numerical simulations suggest that, depending on the axis, up to 10s mW average electrical power is recoverable for a walking gait and up to 100s mW average electrical power is achievable during a running gait. This takes into account parasitic losses and only capturing a fraction of the gait cycle to not adversely burden the user. The predicted recoverable power levels are ample to self-sustain wireless communication and smart sensing functionalities to support smart prosthetics, as well as extend the battery life for active actuators in bionic systems. The results here serve as a theoretical foundation to design and develop towards regenerative smart bionic prosthetics.