Passive compensation of beam shift in an array on a bending surface

The radiation pattern of a conformal load-bearing antenna can be significantly deformed when a high load causes the surface to bend. This paper examines a method to compensate for the beam shift induced in a conformal array by using the change in length of the surface produced by the bend. This change in length is used to modify the capacitance in a left-handed transmission line which causes a phase shift in the line. This paper defines two possible structures for this process, highlights the advantages and drawbacks of each implementation and proposes solutions to the identified problems. The paper concludes that the passive compensation concept is feasible and would produce a system that provides significant benefits over active systems.