An Investigation to Compare the Numerical Model Between Shell and Solid for Honeycomb Light-Weighted Mirror

Abstract

This article reports an accurate analysis approach of finite element modeling and optical modeling. It has been used for design and analysis of many opto-mechanical systems such as large telescopes and laser systems. The approach is to represent mirror surface deformation derived from finite element analysis (FEA) by Zernike polynomials, such that the impact of deformation on optical system performance can be evaluated by optical design and analysis program. The methodology of shell-based and solid-based finite element modeling and the comparison of their results have been described in this paper. The result shows that the deformation of the light-weighted mirror designed by this approach fulfills the requirements of optical design. The simulation results of shell based FE model are in good agreement with those of solid based FE model.