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Radio telescopes as well as communication antennas operate under the influence of gravity, temperature and wind. Among those, temperature influences may degrade the performance of a radio telescope through transient changes of the focus, pointing, path length and sensitivity, often in an unpredictable way. Thermal Design and Thermal Behaviour of Radio Telescopes and their Enclosures reviews the design and construction principles of radio telescopes in view of thermal aspects and heat transfer with the variable thermal environment; it explains supporting thermal model calculations and the application and efficiency of thermal protection and temperature control; it presents many measurements illustrating the thermal behaviour of telescopes in the environment of their observatory sites.
The book benefits scientists and radio/communication engineers, telescope designers and construction firms as well as telescope operators, observatory staff, but also the observing astronomer who is directly confronted with the thermal behaviour of a telescope.
List of contents
Radio Astronomy and Radio Telescopes.- Radio Telescope Constructions in View of Thermal Aspects.- Telescope Enclosures.- The Variable Thermal Environment.- Calculation of Solar Illumination.- Temperature Measurements and FEM Thermal Deformation Calculations.- Heat Transfer.- Radiative Coupling towards Sky and Ground (External View Factor).- Measured Thermal Behaviour of Radio Telescopes.- Measured Thermal Behaviour of Enclosures.- Thermal Model Calculations.- Beam Formation and Beam Degradation.- Thermal Tolerances.- Optical Telescopes and Enclosures.- A Summary and Further Studies.
Summary
Radio telescopes as well as communication antennas operate under the influence of gravity, temperature and wind. Among those, temperature influences may degrade the performance of a radio telescope through transient changes of the focus, pointing, path length and sensitivity, often in an unpredictable way. Thermal Design and Thermal Behaviour of Radio Telescopes and their Enclosures reviews the design and construction principles of radio telescopes in view of thermal aspects and heat transfer with the variable thermal environment; it explains supporting thermal model calculations and the application and efficiency of thermal protection and temperature control; it presents many measurements illustrating the thermal behaviour of telescopes in the environment of their observatory sites.
The book benefits scientists and radio/communication engineers, telescope designers and construction firms as well as telescope operators, observatory staff, but also the observing astronomer who is directly confronted with the thermal behaviour of a telescope.
Additional text
From the reviews:
“This volume presents a comprehensive treatment of the thermal behavior and design of radio telescopes, reflector antennas, and their enclosures. … The book contains a wealth of interesting and useful material in the form of graphs and tables. … this book will be of indispensable help to designers and operators of telescopes … .” (Jacob W. M. Baars, RSB Radio Science Bulletin, Issue 346, September, 2013)
“The authors of this book provide a detailed study of the thermal behaviour of antennae. They combine theory and modelling of telescopes with a substantial amount of real data from various observatories (most frequently from their home base, IRAM). … The thermal environment, heat transfer, real measurements, and model calculations of the thermal behaviour of antennae are all treated in considerable detail. … This volume appears to me to be a valuable assessment of the current state of this complex set of problems.” (Guy Pooley, The Observatory, Vol. 131 (1224), October, 2011)
Report
From the reviews:
"This volume presents a comprehensive treatment of the thermal behavior and design of radio telescopes, reflector antennas, and their enclosures. ... The book contains a wealth of interesting and useful material in the form of graphs and tables. ... this book will be of indispensable help to designers and operators of telescopes ... ." (Jacob W. M. Baars, RSB Radio Science Bulletin, Issue 346, September, 2013)
"The authors of this book provide a detailed study of the thermal behaviour of antennae. They combine theory and modelling of telescopes with a substantial amount of real data from various observatories (most frequently from their home base, IRAM). ... The thermal environment, heat transfer, real measurements, and model calculations of the thermal behaviour of antennae are all treated in considerable detail. ... This volume appears to me to be a valuable assessment of the current state of this complex set of problems." (Guy Pooley, The Observatory, Vol. 131 (1224), October, 2011)
