Method of constructing three-dimensionally curved, knit wire reflector

摘要

An electrically conducting, electromagnetic wave reflector comprises a knit wire reflecting surface consisting of two superimposed knitted wire meshes. The wire mesh reflector is impregnated with a transparent thermo-setting resin so that the metallic structure is no more than 3 mils from the outer surface of the reflector. The knitted wire mesh permits the fabric to be smoothly stretched over a three-dimensional surface of predetermined shape. The two wire meshes are staggered with respect to each other to reduce the effective size of the openings between the loops of the mesh. A reinforcing structure preferably consisting of two layers of glass cloth impregnated with a thermo-setting resin is utilized to provide a lightweight reflector substantially impervious to environmental corrosion. The resulting structure may be used as an antenna or reflector and is suitable for the microwave region such as the K band. There is also disclosed a method of constructing such a reflector.