Light-tracing based surface deformation measurement strategy for large radio telescopes

Light-tracing based surface deformation measurement strategy for large radio telescopes | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Light-tracing based surface deformation measurement strategy for large radio telescopes Zihan Zhang, Dejin Yang, Qian Ye, Na Wang This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-3955275/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 18 Oct, 2024 Read the published version in Experimental Astronomy → Version 1 posted 7 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract With the increasing aperture as well as the observation frequency of radio telescopes in the current period, the deformation caused by time-varying loads such as temperature and wind has been emphasized. Existing methods for measuring deformations often fall short in meeting the demands of full attitude coverage, quasi real-time response, and high accuracy. This study introduces a novel geometric-optical measurement approach based on light-tracing. Diverging from traditional methods, this approach doesn't directly measure the surface deformation of the main reflector. Instead, it creates a more easily measurable variable and establishes a mapping relationship between this variable and the main reflector deformation. In this innovative scheme, multiple laser modules are strategically positioned on the main reflector, treating the sub reflector as a spot projection surface. When the panel is displaced, the spot on the projection surface will follow and be displaced. In practice, the main reflector deformation can be solved by recording the position change of the light spots on the projection surface and utilizing the inverse reconstruction model. Besides, effective strategies are proposed to improve the robustness of the scheme. Next, the accuracy and real-time performance of the proposed method are verified through simulations and experiments. Results indicate that the proposed approach presents a fresh perspective to enhance the efficiency and precision of deformation measurements for large-aperture antennas. Radio telescope Main reflector deformation Geometric-optical measurement Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 18 Oct, 2024 Read the published version in Experimental Astronomy → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 04 Apr, 2024 Reviews received at journal 12 Mar, 2024 Reviewers agreed at journal 22 Feb, 2024 Reviewers invited by journal 22 Feb, 2024 Editor assigned by journal 22 Feb, 2024 Submission checks completed at journal 20 Feb, 2024 First submitted to journal 13 Feb, 2024 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-3955275","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":273994675,"identity":"16d297ce-9536-4b03-b7b0-43f7981cb34e","order_by":0,"name":"Zihan Zhang","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Shanghai Jiao Tong University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Zihan","middleName":"","lastName":"Zhang","suffix":""},{"id":273994676,"identity":"4e217bb4-d996-4ffc-8e1d-73c7726a5007","order_by":1,"name":"Dejin Yang","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Chongqing Jiaotong University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Dejin","middleName":"","lastName":"Yang","suffix":""},{"id":273994677,"identity":"4b1b07f1-4d46-4a05-9846-99196f414ec5","order_by":2,"name":"Qian Ye","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAxUlEQVRIiWNgGAWjYJCCAwwMNgwGpGpJI1ELEBwmQYvB8eaNB37uOG9vzn74AMOPGgZ5c4JazhwrONh75nbizp60BMaeYwyGOxsIabmRY3CAt+12gsGBHAMG3gYGIIOQlvtvDA7+bTtnb3D+jQHjX6K03OAxOMzbdoBxA9A6ZqJskTyTVnBYti05ccONZwmHZY5JGG4gpIXv+OHNH9+22QEdlnzw4ZsaG3mCtigcQIoRoGIJAuqBQL6B9HgfBaNgFIyCkQYAPbtIBTL0NgwAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"","institution":"Shanghai Astronomical Observatory","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Qian","middleName":"","lastName":"Ye","suffix":""},{"id":273994678,"identity":"2c1ef5ff-e25b-40e1-ae94-ca47eaade14b","order_by":3,"name":"Na Wang","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Xinjiang Astronomical Observatory","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Na","middleName":"","lastName":"Wang","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2024-02-14 05:02:22","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-3955275/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-3955275/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[{"content":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10686-024-09960-w","type":"published","date":"2024-10-18T15:56:58+00:00"}],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":67148836,"identity":"b83e7cc0-4d1e-4f4e-bfac-0c099a452f4b","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-10-21 16:08:44","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":12682513,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Lighttracingbasedsurfacedeformationmeasurementstrategyforlargeradiotelescopes.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-3955275/v1_covered_bd7d2b05-01b3-42d7-bd9f-b2754da47f58.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Light-tracing based surface deformation measurement strategy for large radio telescopes","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"experimental-astronomy","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"expa","sideBox":"Learn more about [Experimental Astronomy](http://link.springer.com/journal/10686)","snPcode":"10686","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/10686/3","title":"Experimental Astronomy","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"Radio telescope, Main reflector deformation, Geometric-optical measurement","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-3955275/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-3955275/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"With the increasing aperture as well as the observation frequency of radio telescopes in the current period, the deformation caused by time-varying loads such as temperature and wind has been emphasized. 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