Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Hamelin, Cory Jason

Titel

Design of lightweight primary mirrors for optical imaging devices

Ort / Verlag

ProQuest Dissertations & Theses

Erscheinungsjahr

2002

Quelle

ProQuest Dissertations & Theses A&I

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• The development of lightweight optics through material and structural design has been under investigation over the past several decades: of this work, the greatest achievements have been realized in primary mirror design. A wide variety of mirror materials and structural layouts have been proposed for a range of applications. This thesis describes in detail the major trends in optical light-weighting. Materials and structural designs are discussed such that a database outlining advantages and disadvantages of current approaches has been established. Using this data, materials have been chosen that are best suited for production-scale airborne optical systems: these include aluminum, Zerodur, and a proprietary CANMET metal matrix composite. A test case for traditional mirror configurations has been established using finite element analyses and compared to interferometric data. Peak-to-valley error predicted theoretically was found to deviate less than 1.0 μm from experimental data for the Zerodur mirror, falling within acceptable limits. Using this model, structural light-weighting of the Zerodur mirror was analyzed using circular pockets. It was found that a multiple-pocket design that focused on mass reduction through pocket depth was most advantageous.