Numerical Simulation of Wind Loads on Antenna Structures

This contribution considers the modeling and simulation of the wind loads applied to a 35m deep space antenna. The performance of such large structures can be heavily affected by deformations due to wind effects. The aim of the investigation is the prediction of the deformation of the antenna structure caused by wind loads. The presented work constitutes an example for the use of numerical simulation techniques to complex practical multi—physics problems by suitably coupling the numerical methodologies available for the fluid mechanics and structural mechanics subtasks