Non-uniform temperature field measurement and simulation of a radio telescope's main reflector under solar radiation

作者：Chen, Deshen; Qian, Hongliang; Wang, Huajie^*; Zhang, Gang; Fan, Feng; Shen, Shizhao

来源：Applied Thermal Engineering, 2017, 111: 1330-1341.

DOI：10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2016.10.032

• Radio telescope
• Temperature distribution
• Shadow distribution
• Solar radiation
• Thermal analysis

To improve the ability of deep-space exploration, many astronomers around the world are actively engaged in the construction of large-aperture and high-precision radio telescopes. The temperature effect is one of three main factors affecting the reflector accuracy of radio telescopes. To study the daily nonuniform temperature field of the main reflector, experimental studies are first carried out with a 3-m aperture radio telescope model. According to the test results for 16 working conditions, the distribution rule and time-varying regularity of the daily temperature field are summarized initially. Next, theoretical methods for the temperature field of the main reflector are studied considering multiple environmental parameters and self-shadows. Finally, the validity of the theoretical methods is evaluated with test results. The experimental study demonstrates that the non-uniform temperature distribution of the main reflector truly exists and should not be overlooked, and that the theoretical methods for the reflector temperature field proposed in this paper are effective. The research methods and conclusions can provide valuable references for thermal design, monitoring and control of similar high-precision radio telescopes.

• 出版日期2017-1-25
• 单位哈尔滨工业大学