Paper
1 November 1990 Thermal modeling of the NASA/Ames Research Center cryogenic optical test facility and a single-arch, fused-natural-quartz mirror
Y. S. Ng, Jeffrey A. Young, Gordon C. Augason, Steven D. Howard, Ramsey K. Melugin
Author Affiliations +
Abstract
A thermal model of the dewar and optical system of the Cryogenic Optical Test Facility at NASA-Ames Research Center was developed using the computer codes SINDA and MONTE CARLO. The model was based on the geometry, boundary conditions, and physical properties of the test facility and was developed to investigate heat transfer mechanisms and temperatures in the facility and in test mirrors during cryogenic optical tests. A single-arch, fused-natural-quartz mirror was the first mirror whose thermal loads and temperature distributions were modeled. From the temperature distribution, the thermal gradients in the mirror were obtained. The model predicted that a small gradient should exist for the single arch mirror. This was later verified by the measurement of mirror temperatures. The temperatures, predicted by the model at various locations within the dewar, were in relatively good agreement with the measured temperatures. The model is applicable to both steady-state and transient cooldown operations.
© (1990) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Y. S. Ng, Jeffrey A. Young, Gordon C. Augason, Steven D. Howard, and Ramsey K. Melugin "Thermal modeling of the NASA/Ames Research Center cryogenic optical test facility and a single-arch, fused-natural-quartz mirror", Proc. SPIE 1340, Cryogenic Optical Systems and Instruments IV, (1 November 1990); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.23040
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KEYWORDS
Mirrors

Nitrogen

Temperature metrology

Thermal modeling

Helium

Camera shutters

Optical testing

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