Abstract

The primary mirror of the solar optical telescope (SOT) has a large diameter-to-thickness ratio. For this reason, it will not be possible to test the mirror on the surface of the earth because of distortion due to the effect of gravity. A rigorous simulation of the performance of the mirror is therefore required. The finite element structural modeling program, NASTRAN, may be used to model the mirror. A method for using the NASTRAN displacements of the mirror surface to evaluate the SOT primary mirror is described. Several examples using preliminary NASTRAN results are given.

© 1985 Optical Society of America