An axi-symmetric segmented composite SKA dish design: Performance and production analysis

Marianna Ivashina; R. Bakker; J. G. Bij De Vaate; Oleg Iupikov; M. Arts; J. Dekker; Arnold van Ardenne

An axi-symmetric segmented composite SKA dish design: Performance and production analysis
Paper in proceeding, 2011

A concept of an axi-symmetric dish as antenna reflector for the next generation radio telescope - the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) - is presented. The reflector is based on the use of novel thermoplastic composite material (reinforced with carbon fibre) in the context of the telescope design with wide band single pixel feeds. The baseline of this design represents an array of 100's to 1000's reflector antennas of 15-m diameter and covers frequencies from <1 to 10 GHz. The purpose of our study is the analysis of the production cost of the dish and its performance in combination with a realistic wideband feed (such as the 'Eleven Antenna' feed) over a wide frequency band and a range of elevation angles. The presented initial simulation results indicate the potential of the proposed dish concept for low-cost and mass production and demonstrate sensitivity comparable to that of the presently considered off-set Gregorian reflector antenna with the same projected aperture area. We expect this observation to be independent of the choice of the feed, as several other single-pixel wideband feeds (that have been reported in the literature) have similar beamwidth and phase center location, both being rather constant with frequency.

Aperture area

Thermoplastic composite material

wideband antenna

Wide frequency bands

Wide-band

Receiving antennas

Reflector antennas

Mass production

Production cost

Cost benefit analysis

Axisymmetric

reflector antenna feeds

Elevation angle

Frequency bands

Reflector antenna feed

Production analysis

Single pixel

composite materials

Reflector system

radio astronomy

Telescope design

Carbon fibers

displaced-axis dual reflector systems

axi-symmetric

Reflection

Phase center

Pixels

Beam widths

Design

Author

Marianna Ivashina

Chalmers, Earth and Space Sciences, Onsala Space Observatory

Other publications Research

R. Bakker

J. G. Bij De Vaate

Oleg Iupikov

Chalmers, Earth and Space Sciences, Onsala Space Observatory

Other publications Research

M. Arts

J. Dekker

Arnold van Ardenne

Chalmers, Earth and Space Sciences, Onsala Space Observatory

Other publications Research

Asia-Pacific Microwave Conference, APMC 2011; Melbourne, VIC; 5 - 8 December 2011

1182-1185
9780858259744 (ISBN)

Subject Categories

Materials Engineering

Telecommunications

ISBN

9780858259744

More information

Created

10/8/2017

An axi-symmetric segmented composite SKA dish design: Performance and production analysis Paper in proceeding, 2011

Author

Marianna Ivashina

R. Bakker

J. G. Bij De Vaate

Oleg Iupikov

M. Arts

J. Dekker

Arnold van Ardenne

Asia-Pacific Microwave Conference, APMC 2011; Melbourne, VIC; 5 - 8 December 2011

Subject Categories

ISBN

More information

Created

An axi-symmetric segmented composite SKA dish design: Performance and production analysis
Paper in proceeding, 2011