Analysis of Transmitting Pattern Performance for Flexible Conformal Array

‍ ‍Flexible Conformal Arrays （FCA） is a kind of special conformal array antenna whose conformal surfaces change with time. In order to analyze the performance of FCA emission patterns with shape control parameters， a general conformal FCA model of aerofoils is established in this paper. Two control parameters can be used to simulate and adjust the shape change of wings. On this basis， the pattern and array mutual coupling model are established. According to the combination changes of control parameters， the antenna performance varys in four typical scenarios are analyzed， including the changes of indirect parameters and direct parameters （whether the array element position is directly controlled by the parameters） causing different degrees of main lobe broadening and sidelobe level increasing. The mutual coupling effect between array elements decreases the maximum radiation capability of the array due to the change of parameters. and the influence of control parameters on array scanning characteristics. At the same time， the impedance parameters are obtained by full-wave simulation software HFSS to analyze the mutual coupling characteristics of FCA. The coupling information is used to calculate the mutual coupling matrix of the array and to evaluate the mutual coupling leakage of the array， so as to obtain more realistic simulation results. Four typical scenarios show that due to the variation of control parameters， the performance of FCA changes. The change of control parameters leads to the increase of mutual coupling between array elements， which makes it necessary to consider this factor in array pattern synthesis. The relevant conclusions and analysis methods can be extended to any general FCA analysis. Both theoretical analysis and simulation results show that the modeled FCA deformation model can flexibly control its emission pattern characteristics.