Abstract: The deformation under gravity and heat has always been an important factor influencing the precision of a reflecting panel, and this becomes more evident with the demands of large size and high precision. The thermo-mechanical coupled method is used to simulate the deformation of a new reflecting panel with MSC Marc. The deformation under both gravity and temperature is also analyzed. The results of analysis show that the uneven distribution of temperature is the key factor influencing the precision of the reflcting panel. It is concluded that the temperature difference of the reflecting panel should be kept below 0.5℃.

Key words: finite element methods, deformation analysis, simulation, compact antenna test range, design