A parametric finite-element model for evaluating segmented mirrors with discrete edgewise connectivity

Jessica A. Gersh-Range; William R. Arnold; Mason A. Peck; H. Philip Stahl

doi:10.1117/12.893469

24 September 2011 A parametric finite-element model for evaluating segmented mirrors with discrete edgewise connectivity

Jessica A. Gersh-Range, William R. Arnold, Mason A. Peck, H. Philip Stahl

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 8125, Optomechanics 2011: Innovations and Solutions; 81250H (2011) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.893469
Event: SPIE Optical Engineering + Applications, 2011, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

Since future astrophysics missions require space telescopes with apertures of at least 10 meters, there is a need for on-orbit assembly methods that decouple the size of the primary mirror from the choice of launch vehicle. One option is to connect the segments edgewise using mechanisms analogous to damped springs. To evaluate the feasibility of this approach, a parametric ANSYS model that calculates the mode shapes, natural frequencies, and disturbance response of such a mirror, as well as of the equivalent monolithic mirror, has been developed. This model constructs a mirror using rings of hexagonal segments that are either connected continuously along the edges (to form a monolith) or at discrete locations corresponding to the mechanism locations (to form a segmented mirror). As an example, this paper presents the case of a mirror whose segments are connected edgewise by mechanisms analogous to a set of four collocated single-degree- of-freedom damped springs. The results of a set of parameter studies suggest that such mechanisms can be used to create a 15-m segmented mirror that behaves similarly to a monolith, although fully predicting the segmented mirror performance would require incorporating measured mechanism properties into the model.

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Jessica A. Gersh-Range, William R. Arnold, Mason A. Peck, and H. Philip Stahl "A parametric finite-element model for evaluating segmented mirrors with discrete edgewise connectivity", Proc. SPIE 8125, Optomechanics 2011: Innovations and Solutions, 81250H (24 September 2011); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.893469

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