| Summary: | With the rapid advancements in telescope technology, the next generation telescopes will be
on the order of 20 - 50 [m] in diameter. Since traditional telescopes have been substantially
smaller, this huge increase in telescope size necessitates a study into new solutions for
telescope enclosure geometry.
In an attempt to come up with new geometries for large telescope enclosures, a study was
carried out on Platonic and Archimedean spheres. After careful consideration, the Platonic
icosahedral sphere (a type of geodesic dome) and the Archimedean rhombicosidodecahedral
sphere was selected for further analysis.
Sensitivity analysis was performed on the two selected configurations by varying the
enclosure radius (R), and the member cross-section size (CSS), thickness (T), and type (CT).
A 3-dimensional model of each case was generated in a finite element analysis program and
the corresponding nodal deflections and member forces were obtained. After plotting the
results, it was discovered that for both the rhombicosidodecahedron and icosahedron
configuration, the optimal R is 25 [m]. The optimal CSS for the rhombicosidodecahedron
configuration is 0.35 [m] while the optimal CSS for the icosahedron configuration is 0.3 [m].
The optimal T for both configurations is 0.02 [m]. In addition, the optimal CT for the
rhombicosidodecahedron configuration is circular while the optimal CT for the icosahedron
configuration is square. The two configurations were also compared against one another and
it was discovered that the icosahedron configuration generally performs better than the
rhombicosidodecahedron configuration.
In addition to exploring new structural geometries for telescope enclosures, one must not
forget all the expertise which has been put in older telescope enclosures. PhotoModeler is a
photogrammetry software which allows its user to take pictures of an existing structure then
generate 3-dimenional models using various functions in the software. Using this program,
one can combine structural attributes from older telescope enclosures with new geometries to
create a hybrid enclosure suitable for next generation telescopes.
Finally, as a supplementary to the structural geometries suggested in this report, several
composite materials which may be suitable for use as cladding are also presented. These
composite panels include: metal composites, polymer composites, and honeycomb core
composites. === Applied Science, Faculty of === Civil Engineering, Department of === Graduate
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