Discipline: Technology and Engineering
Subcategory: Electrical Engineering
Session: 1
Room: Exhibit Hall A
Briana Gonzalez - Florida International University
Co-Author(s): Nicholas Russo, Florida International University, FL; Constantinos Zekios, Florida International University, FL; Stavros Georgakopoulos, Florida International University, FL.
Communication, radar and wireless systems often use reconfigurable antennas, which should operate at multiple frequency bands, multiple polarizations, multiple radiation patterns. Several different techniques have been developed for the design of such antennas. Our work focuses on the design of origami antennas, which are electromagnetically reconfigurable and efficiently stowable, [1]. However, origami antenna designs are challenging as they involve both electromagnetic and mechanical functionality. In fact, mapping even typical antennas (e.g., dipole, patch, etc.) onto origami patterns results in highly complex geometries that are difficult or impossible to design even by experienced antenna engineers. To address this problem, optimization algorithms are used here for the development of origami antennas. The effectiveness of such algorithms has been proven, [2]. Specifically, genetic algorithms are used in our work. Initially, a genetic algorithm is developed and tested for its effectiveness on the solution of single- and multi- variable mathematical functions. During this process, the parameters that mainly affect the convergence rate and solution time of our algorithm are identified. Then, our genetic algorithm is modified to solve and optimize designs of dipole and patch antennas. Our results prove that our algorithm converges to optimal designs of dipoles and patches, which operate in the desired operation frequencies (e.g., 2.4 GHz and 5.5 GHz). Finally, our algorithm is used to design origami antennas. Specifically, the example of dipoles on an accordion structure is used. The objective, in this case, is to optimize the dipoles and achieve beam-steering by changing the inter-element spacing of the accordion origami structure. Our algorithm is expected to advance research on origami antennas and play an important role in the development of new reconfigurable antennas. References: [1] X. Liu, C. L. Zekios, and S. V. Georgakopoulos, “Analysis of a Packable and Tunable Origami Multi-Radii Helical Antenna,” in IEEE Access, vol. 7, pp. 13003-13014, 2019. [2] R. L. Haupt, and D. H. Werner, “Genetic algorithms in electromagnetics,” Wiley 2007.
Funder Acknowledgement(s): This work was supported by the National Science Foundation under grant EFRI 1332348 (which includes a REM grant), the Air Force Office of Scientific Research under grant FA9550-18-1-0191 and the Florida International University Presidential Fellowship.
Faculty Advisor: Stavros Georgakopoulos, georgako@fiu.edu
Role: I was involved in developing the optimization algorithms.