Real-time temperature estimation method for electromagnetic performance improvement of a large axisymmetric radio telescope under solar radiation

The temperature field caused by solar radiation can seriously affect the electromagnetic (EM) performances of large-aperture and high-frequency radio telescopes, and achieving the EM performance improvements under solar radiation is of great importance. In this study, combining temperature simulation and measurement, a fast estimation method of the temperature field is presented. First, a temperature database based on transient temperature field simulation is constructed in advance, and by utilising the telescope's axisymmetric structure, the dimension of the database can be greatly reduced. Then, a small number of temperature sensors are installed and the real-time measured data are applied to correct the simulation temperature field extracted from the above temperature database by the table look-up method, which can ensure the temperature field estimation speed. Thus, based on the real-time estimated temperature field and the telescope's finite element model, thermal deformations can be calculated in real-time and used for deformation compensation. A 7.3 m reflector antenna with 21 temperature sensors is adopted to verify the proposed strategy, and the results show the effectiveness and feasibility of the strategy. This study can provide helpful guidance for the real-time compensation of thermal deformations derived from large axisymmetric telescopes.