Influence of electromagnetic coupling field on the structure and performance of spaceborne spring

Elastic elements are widely applied in the spaceborne deployable antenna.The consistency and stability of the mechanical properties of these elastic elements are crucial for the deployment and normal service of the antenna.The surface accuracy of the deployable antenna is ensured with the normal operation of these springs.The investigation is on the influence of electromagnetic coupling treatment on the structure and performance of the spaceborne spring.A combination of macroscopic and microscopic experiments was used to explore the influence of electromagnetic fields on the structure and performance of elastic components.With the analysis of the results and influence mechanism,this work provides a novel method to improve the consistency and stability of the spaceborne elastic components.The application of the electromagnetic coupling field was observed to improve the stiffness,hardness,creep resistance,and other mechanical properties of the spaceborne elastic element without any additional weight or structure punishment. The result reveals that stiffness is enhanced by 2.11% and the distribution variance is decreased by an order of magnitude.Microhardness of the spring is increased by 8.42% ,while the variance distribution is decreased by 40.79%. A 45.76% creep resistance improvement is achieved by the application.The improvement of creep resistance beneficial to the long-term service of the spring.The coupling field improves the uniformity of spring stiffness and hardness distribution and alleviates the individual differences among different springs,which has a positive effect hundreds of elastic elements in service on spaceborne antenna.In addition,examination by metallurgical microscope shows evidence of enhancement of the mechanical properties by the electromagnetic coupling field.Broken grain boundaries and more evenly distributed carbides were observed.Positive effects on mechanical properties are attributed to the fine grain strengthening and precipitation strengthening.According to the analysis,the reinforcement effect of the spring is formed by the coupling of factors such as the Joule heating effect of the electric field,the electronic wind effect,and the magneto-vibration of the magnetic field.Hence,the electromagnetic coupling treatment significantly influences the stability and mechanical properties of the spaceborne elastic components,and this technology has excellent prospects in the future aerospace field.