Abstract: A mathematical model of asymmetric cable net parabolic antenna is developed. Based on the structure node equations of force balance, an approach for cable pretension design is presented. The object of the design is to find uniform and balanced cable pretensions as soon as possible. Considering the complexity of the design problem, which has too many design variables, with a number of 661, a simplifying progress is done on the basis of the property of cable net structure. A relatively simple optimization model is finally established and numeric result for the design problem is obtained. Finite element model of the cable net structure, with the designed pretensions as its initial condition, is analyzed. The form-finding result shows that the designed model is nearly the same as the expected ideal model and the maximum pretension ratio of the net cables, with a value of 1.24, is considerably small. The result proves the correctness and effectiveness of the proposed approach.

Key words: Cable net, Deployable antenna, Pretension