Simulation Helps Anywaves Optimize Space Antenna Designs 

Anywaves designs, manufactures and delivers commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) or custom antennas worldwide. Building on its expertise in the field and recent commercial success, Anywaves uses simulation to expand its solutions portfolio and address all types of spacecraft.

Challenges

High-frequency space antenna design presents numerous engineering challenges and constraints imposed by the extreme conditions space vehicles are subject to in orbit. Whatever the mission, be it telecommunications, global positioning/navigation, or Earth Observation, space antennas must consistently perform essential functions throughout a space vehicle's lifetime. A single malfunction can severely compromise satellite performance or lead to shutdown.

Space antennas must withstand significant thermal and atmospheric variations, as well as intense mechanical bearings such as vibrations and shocks. Their miniature size, plus the design and certification process required to bring them to market, can complicate production. All these factors can negatively impact development times and costs. Therefore, they must be accounted for as early as possible. To do so, the Anywaves team needed a solution to model and simulate their complete antenna designs to reduce the number of time-consuming and costly physical testing phases.

Engineering Solutions

To remain agile enough to meet the increasingly complex technical demands of Anywaves’ growing portfolio requires continuously updated versions of the most advanced simulation tools and solvers available. Since its inception, Anywaves has been using Ansys multiphysics solutions to help deploy its antenna technology, including:

• Ansys Mechanical throughout the design phase to model the mechanical structure of antenna components. Mechanical can analyze component behavior in terms of deformation, vibration, resistance, and lifespan. The software is also used to test dynamic thermal and acoustic effects, as well as the topological parameters of the antenna in its real-world environment.
• Ansys HFSS electromagnetic (EM) simulation software to study the electronic operation of the entire antenna. Merging meshes of different scales within HFSS enables engineers to combine all components, from the antenna’s electronic circuits to the satellite envelope.
• Ansys Workbench platform for connecting Mechanical and HFSS to perform multiphysics simulations on a new range of products.