Corrosion of cable-strut structures during long-term service life will cause cross-sectional area loss of steel members, which will lead to redistribution of internal force and affect safety performance of the structure. This paper established three failure modes including member strength failure mode, cable relaxation failure mode and node deformation failure mode based on the reliability theory and structural limit state, and further obtained reliability limit control inequalities under critical states of different failure modes. Through mechanical derivation, it derived the formula for the members’ internal force variation as well as nodal displacement variation of cable-strut structure due to variation of cross-sectional area. Based on the formula, the influence coefficient matrix in the reliability limit control inequality can be calculated. By introducing the corrosion model of steel and combining it with nonlinear programming, it proposed the method to determine the members’ area-loss limit of cable-strut structure. The numerical example of a Levy cable dome was carried out and the calculated area-loss limits were compared with the current limit in specification. The result shows that the calculated area-loss limit of most members in the cable-strut structure under the strength failure mode and deformation failure mode is higher than the durability specification limit,but the area-loss limit under the relaxation failure model is smaller than the durability limit. If the structure is designed and maintained according to this limit value, the cable relaxation failure may occur. The safety specification limit is strict for steel cable members, but it is the same as durability specification limit for steel bar members. Therefore, the area-loss limit under three failure modes and specification limits should be considered comprehensively and the final limit should be controlled according to the most stringent results.

Inspired by the structural configurations of ribbed cable domes, this study introduced a novel ribpatterned deployable antenna structure, aiming to explore innovative design solutions for large-aperture antennas. Firstly, this paper designed a basic deployable module with a driving-locking joint. By sequentially assembling multiple such modules, an extendable arm was constructed, which serves as a radial support rib. Furthermore, multiple extendable arms were arranged in a circumferential array, with corresponding prestressed loop cables, resulting in the construction of a novel rib-ring deployable antenna structure. In its fully deployed state, this structure can be conceptualized as a cable-beam composite system. A simulation model of the structure was created using finite element analysis software, and modal analysis was conducted. Comparative results reveal that, relative to existing configurations, the proposed rib-ring deployable structure exhibits superior structural stiffness, indicating its potential for application in large-aperture antenna design. Building on these, the study investigated the application of the ribpatterned structure to large-aperture antennas, proposing a deployable antenna design with a diameter of 58. 2 meters. To assess the feasibility of this design, a simulation model of the antenna was developed using multi-body dynamics simulation software Adams, and deployment motion simulations were performed both for the individual extendable arm and the overall structure. The results demonstrate that the designed structure can successfully deploy into position and achieve reliable locking, further verifying the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed antenna design. The study indicates that the novel rib-ring deployable antenna structure combines the advantages of truss-type deployable structures, which offer high stiffness, and rib-type deployable structures, which provide a high deployment ratio. This research offers valuable insights for the structural selection of future large-aperture antennas.