Software Tool for Analysis and Design of Antenna Arrays for Small Satellites

101 Pages·2017·7.64 MB·English

by  Even Birkeland

Software Tool for Analysis and Design of
Antenna Arrays for Small Satellites
Even Birkeland
Master of Science in Electronics
Submission date: June 2017
Supervisor: Egil Eide, IES
Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Department of Electronic Systems

Even Birkeland
Software Tool for Analysis and Design of
Antenna Arrays for Small Satellites
Master’s thesis in Electronics
Trondheim, June 2017
Supervisor: Egil Eide, IE
Co-supervisor: Irene Jensen, SINTEF
Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Faculty of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering (IE)
Department of Electronic Systems

Abstract
TheNorwegianSpaceCentrewantsacommitmenttonationalnano-andmicro-satelliteprojects
to cover strategical national interests. AISSat-1 was launched in 2010, and AISSat-2 in 2014.
AIS operates on 160 MHz, and on a satellite platform that is significantly smaller than the
wavelength,whichposesachallengeforthedesignoftheAISantenna.
To aid the design of the AIS antenna, and other antenna systems for small satellites, it is
usefultohavea toolthatallowsforsimulationof theantennasystem’sradiationcharacteristics
with decent accuracy and short computational time, and without the need to create a 3D CAD
modeloftheantennasandsatelliteplatform.
The software tool SmallsatArray was developed in this thesis work to fill this need. The
softwaretargetsantennaarrayswherethesatelliteplatformiselectricallysmallcomparedtothe
wavelength,thushavingaminimalimpactontheradiationfromtheantennas. Throughrotation
of imported radiation patterns from CST or HFSS and 3D Array calculations, the software lets
the user construct arbitrary three-dimensional antenna arrays and calculate the total field of the
antenna systems. The results can be displayed using a wide range of plotting options, and can
easilyexported.
The SmallsatArray software offers a very fast alternative to full-wave simulation software
and was found to provide satisfactory accuracy even as the wavelength is reduced close to the
satellitedimensions.
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Sammendrag
Norsk romsenter ønsker en satsing pa˚ nasjonale sma˚satellittprosjekter for a dekke strategiske
nasjonalebehov. AISSat-1bleskuttoppi2010,ogAISSat-2i2014. AISoperererpa˚ 160MHz,
og pa˚ satellittplattformer som er betydelig mindre enn bølgelengden, noe som er en utfordring
fordesignavAISantennen.
Fora˚ forenkledesignprosessenavAIS-antennen,samtandreantennesystemerforsma˚ satel-
litter,erdetnyttiga˚haetdesignverktøysommuliggjørsimuleringavantennesystemetsstra˚lings-
karakteristikk med god nøyaktighet og med rask beregningstid, og uten a˚ behøve en 3D CAD-
modellavantenneneogsatellitten.
Programvaren SmallsatArray ble utviklet i arbeidet med denne oppgaven for a˚ svare dette
behovet. Programvaren fokuserer pa˚ antennearray hvor satellittplattformen har liten elektrisk
størrelse i forhold til bølgelengde, og som følge gir liten innvirkning pa˚ stra˚lekarakteristikken
fra antennene. Ved a˚ rotere sta˚lingsdiagram importert fra CST eller HFSS og kombinere disse
med 3D-antenneteori, lar programmet brukeren designe vilka˚rlige tredimensjonale antennear-
ray og beregne det totale, samlede stra˚lingsdiagrammet for antennesystemet. Resultatene kan
fremvisesmedetbredtutvalgavplottalternativer,ogkanenkelteksporteres.
SmallsatArrayprogramvarengirethurtigalternativtil“full-wave”simuleringsverktøymed
godnøyaktighet,selvna˚rbølgelengdenreduserestila˚ nærmesegsatellittensstørrelse.
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Preface
This report is a master’s thesis in Electronics written during the spring semester at NTNU,
Trondheim 2017. The challenge of designing the antenna simulation software was provided by
my co-supervisor, who had seen the SatAF software developed by Gabriele Roseti (EPFL) and
wantedasimilartool.
Working on this thesis and the SmallsatArray software has been a fantastic learning expe-
rience for me in understanding electromagnetism and antennas. I feel that I have transitioned
from seeing electromagnetic waves as a confusing formula in a book, to having an intuitive
understanding of the composition of the electromagnetic fields and antennas’ radiation mecha-
nism. Beingmyfirstmajorprogrammingproject,theworkinthisthesishastaughtmanycoding
techniquesandskillsthatIexpecttobeveryusefullaterinlife.
IhavechosentomakeSmallsatArrayavailablepubliclyunderanMITLicense,givingany-
onetherighttouseandmodifythesoftware,inthehopethatotherswillfindmyworkuseful.
I want to than my supervisors Egil Eide and Irene Jensen for trusting me with this exciting
task and for their feedback and help throughout the project. I also want to thank the people
in the mechanical workshop at the institute for building the satellite model for my physical
measurementsveryswiftly.
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