Electromagnetic and Mechanical Analysis of an Origami Helical Antenna Encapsulated by Fabric

Abstract

In this work an origami based helical antenna is electromagnetically and mechanically analyzed and tested. The Kresling pattern is used to accommodate the helical nature of the antenna design. First, a mechanical analysis is performed showing that by increasing the number of the sides, the structure becomes more stable and it is easier to fold. An 8-sided design is chosen based on our results. The electromagnetic analysis of the antenna shows that it achieves a realized gain of 8.1 dB and that is circularly polarized. The antenna is fabricated and tested. Our results exhibit very good agreement between simulations and measurements.