主反射面变形引起的天线指向误差修正方法

射电天线指向精度通常要求小于主波束宽度的1/10, 对于短厘米波段或毫米波段的大口径反射面天线, 指向精度要求高达几个角秒, 对于天线性能目标的实现是个巨大的挑战, 因此对于大口径高频段的反射面天线来说指向问题成为天线性能实现的重要关注焦点. 在众多影响天线指向精度的结构子系统因素中, 对主反射面变形因素的研究很少. 文章结合天线的结构特点建立了反射面空间坐标系统, 并基于变形后主面点的空间坐标值, 提出了3自由度下的非线性最小二乘吻合的方法去精准预测天线指向. 最后利用空间几何关系严格推导出了服务于天线指向误差修正的俯仰和方位的精确调整量, 从而构建了主面变形同指向误差之间的间接关系, 这对大型射电天线指向精度的提升具有一定的指导意义.     

大型双反射面天线指向误差评估算法

针对天线变形耦合影响指向误差评估精度的问题,提出基于几何光学的大型双反射面天线指向误差评估算法。通过建立变形反射面天线的最佳吻合抛物面、偏移副反射面以及馈源在基坐标下的数学模型,计算反射面辐射区间并确定指向误差权重因子,最终建立天线的指向误差评估模型。为验证算法的正确性,应用该模型对一座在建70 m天线的多组虚拟变形工况进行指向误差评估,其结果与现有波束偏移因子算法以及电磁仿真算法的评估结果进行对比,结果表明,该模型评估的指向误差结果与电磁仿真算法以及波束偏移因子算法的评估结果吻合,所提算法正确。该算法为分析天线变形耦合对指向误差评估精度的影响提供了理论依据,在一定程度上提高了天线的指向误差评估精度。     

德令哈13.7m望远镜热变形研究

热变形是影响大型毫米波天线性能的关键因素之一.这种变形会改变天线反射面的轴线和焦距、恶化反射面面形,导致天线效率和指向精度恶化,同时也使天线效率和指向的长时间稳定性降低.由于太阳的周日运动,造成望远镜4个主支撑腿(简称支腿)之间存在温差,且该温差是变化的,从而引起方位轴的倾斜周期性变化.采用数字摄影测量、倾斜仪测量及天文实测等多种仪器和方法,研究了德令哈13.7m望远镜天线的热变形规律,并根据实时测量的主面温度分布,实现了副面自适应调焦补偿,使得天线效率提高近1倍.测量发现常规指向模型修正后的残差与天线主反射面(包括反射面板和背架,简称主面)直径方向温差存在线性相关性,故在指向解析模型中加入了温差修正项,并通过采用隔热材料包裹支腿的办法显著减小了支腿之间的温差,从而改善了望远镜的指向精度.     

天线面板重力变形的主动控制量计算方法研究

提出了理想反射面及2参数、5参数和6参数最佳吻合抛物面方法,计算大型卡氏天线结构重力变形后主反射面板的调整量和对应的副反射面调整量,同时分析馈源偏焦对天线电性能的影响.以上海天文台天马65 m望远镜(TM65m)为研究对象,综合对比分析促动器调整量、6杆并联机构调整量、主反射面精度及偏焦后天线指向变化等,认为针对实际结构而言,经过调整修正后,6参数最佳吻合抛物面方法可以作为高精度天线理想的计算面板变形主动控制量方法,计算结果为天线的主动控制提供初调数据.     

TM65 m射电望远镜副面位姿建模

大型射电望远镜在观测过程中,随着俯仰角度的变化,副面支撑、背架、主反射面等都有不同程度的变形,这将导致天线效率在高低俯仰角上明显下降,天马65 m射电望远镜副面系统的安装可以用来补偿副面支撑和主面的重力变形,在不同的俯仰角度上,副面位姿的调整可以提高天线的效率和指向性能.通过在X波段和Ku波段研究副面位姿变化对天线效率的影响,用射电法建立了随俯仰角度变化的副面位姿随动调整模型和指向补偿模型.此外还测试了副面随动与固定对天线效率的影响,结果表明副面随动模型可以有效改善65 m望远镜在高低俯仰角上的效率,使得在整个俯仰角范围内,X波段的接受效率均达到60%以上.     

德令哈13.7m望远镜重力变形研究

借助于数字摄影测量结果调整天线面板,使德令哈13.7 m望远镜在仰角52°时获得最佳反射面面形,从而使天线效率在观测仰角范围内得到整体优化.与之前基于经纬仪测量的面板调整结果相比,天线口径效率提高约1倍.依据不同俯仰姿态下的测量结果,得到了天线的重力变形模型,包括副面偏移和倾斜、主面焦距和面形偏差随仰角变化的规律.根据不同仰角的面形偏差测量数据反演反射面重力变形模型时,采用了数据拟合方法,这样可以减小测量误差对模型精度的影响.     

南极5 m太赫兹望远镜指向与调焦校准精度分析

指向校准与副面调焦是天线测量的重要组成部分,对射电望远镜实际的观测性能有重要影响.根据南极5 m太赫兹望远镜(DATE5)指向精度和离焦增益损失的指标要求,计算得到了指向校准与副面调焦观测过程中对信噪比的要求,并以此为依据选取了若干可行的候选校准源,包括太阳系行星和超致密电离氢区.分析了大气吸收和校准源角直径对测量精度的影响.仿真分析结果表明:望远镜在南极工作时,这些校准源在一定的高度角范围内可以提供足够强的流量密度,用来验证预先建立的太赫兹和光学望远镜两光轴指向偏差模型以及副面调焦模型.     

天籁实验抛物柱面天线阵结构设计与力学分析

为了满足大面积天区的射电巡天观测,完成对大尺度结构的精确测量和对暗能量的探测,需要设计可安装大量馈源单元的大规模射电干涉阵列天线。抛物柱面的结构形式能较好满足工作需求,对抛物柱面天线阵进行了结构的选型设计。基于有限元方法及有限元分析软件,建立了用于暗能量射电探测的抛物柱面天线阵结构的有限元模型,计算分析了在重力、冰雪和风力等载荷作用时反射面的变形情况。仿真计算分析结果表明:设计的用于暗能量射电探测的天线结构在各种工况下反射面变形量较小,能满足各项设计技术指标要求,从而验证了天线阵结构的合理性、稳定性和可靠性。     

FAST单元面板面型检测算法研究

500 m口径球面射电望远镜(Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope,FAST)是一个超大口径的可动望远镜,有三项技术创新,一是选址,二是轻型馈源索支撑,三是主动反射面。在主动反射面上,单元面板的面型和面板的出厂加工精度对电磁波在反射面的汇聚有很大影响。FAST主反射面由4 600块三角形反射面板拼接而成,每块面板为边长11 m三角形,这对FAST反射面面板的测量技术提出了更高的要求。摄影测量直接在影像上进行量测,无需接触物体本身;所摄影像信息丰富,可以从中获得所研究物体的大量几何信息和物理信息;适用于大范围、多目标测量,效率高。目前世界上最大的射电望远镜,如GBT和ARECIBO都是采用摄影测量技术进行反射面面形检测。在对现有的面型检测技术调研并试验后,提出基于数字近景摄影测量的方法,对FAST反射面11 m单元面板的面型进行检测,数分钟完成反射面板面型的一次检测,测量精度达到2.5 mm,经过调整后的单元面板的面型精度达到了3.0 mm,结果表明摄影测量应用于FAST反射面单元面板面型检测是可行的。     

PSD法测量大型射电望远镜副面位姿

指向精度是大型射电望远镜天线具有挑战性的关键技术指标.在望远镜运行中,方位俯仰角的变化、重力以及日照等对副面撑杆的综合影响会引起望远镜的副面位姿改变从而引起指向误差的增加和天线效率的降低.基于天马65 m射电望远镜,使用位置传感器装置(PSD)法构建了副面位置偏移量测定系统,可以实时采集副面的3维位移数据,构建重力模型,将测试结果与射电法构建的现有副面模型进行对比,有较好的一致性.此外,该系统可以分析日照(引起撑腿局部温度效应)引起的副面位移情况,也可以监视风载和瞬时启停对副面位姿的影响.     

Subreflector model depending on elevation for the Tianma 65m Radio Telescope

A subreflector adjustment system for the Tianma 65 m radio telescope, administered by Shanghai Astronomical Observatory, has been installed to compensate for gravitational deformation of the main reflector and the structure supporting the subreflector. The position and attitude of the subreflector are variable in order to improve the efficiency at different elevations. The subreflector model has the goal of improving the antenna's performance. A new fitting formulation which is different from the traditional formulation is proposed to reduce the fitting error in the Y direction. The only difference in the subreflector models of the 65 m radio telescope is the bias of a constant term in the Z direction. We have investigated the effect of movements of the subreflector on the pointing of the antenna. The results of these performance measurements made by moving the antenna in elevation show that the subreflector model can effectively improve the efficiency of the 65 m radio telescope at each elevation. An antenna efficiency of about 60% at the K u band is reached in the whole angular range of elevation.     

环焦天线口径面相位分析

环焦天线具有特殊的电磁特性和应用领域.对环焦天线的口径面相位误差进行了理论和仿真分析,推导了馈源和副面位置偏差引起的相位误差、主副面之间的补偿关系以及全息测量中天线转动引起的光程差.研究结果将对环焦天线的精确面形测量和补偿提供理论依据和参考.     

Phase Analysis of Aperture Surface on Ring Focus Antenna

The ring focus antenna has special electromagnetic characteristics and application fields. The phase error of ring focus antenna is analyzed theoretically and simulatedly. The phase error caused by the position deviation of the feed and the subreflector, the compensation relationship between the main reflector and subreflector, and the optical path difference caused by the operation of the antenna in holographic measurement are derived. The results will provide theoretical basis and reference for accurate surface measurement and compensation of the ring focus antenna.     

基于单目视觉的天线副面并联调整机构相对位姿测量方法

为测量天线副面并联调整机构的相对位姿,研究了一种基于单目视觉的位姿测量系统.采用光源照射固定于动平台上的合作目标,结合滤光片等控制手段,利用单目相机采集非共面特征点的图像,获得高对比度的准理想图像.经过图像处理和平方加权质心法,提取出特征点的图像坐标,使用EPnP (Efficient Perspective-n-Point)算法进行位姿解算,最终可以得到并联调整机构的相对位姿测量方法.最后通过实验进行了精度验证,结果表明平移精度为0.1 mm,旋转精度为0.05°,满足了实验要求,为并联机构的位姿检测提供了可行性思路.     

Research on Wind Tower Position Optimization Method of Radio Telescope Site Based on Numerical Simulation

Wind field is a critical issue for radio telescope antenna structure design and observation. As the telescope performance requirements are getting higher and higher, the antenna structure design becomes more and more complicated, and the influence of wind load on antenna pointing in the observation is also serious. How to ensure the stiffness and strength of the structure during the design and to improve the effective observation time during the observation all need accurate wind field data. Due to the traditional wind tower setup method cannot quantitatively evaluate the reliability of the setting point position, so a method based on numerical simulation to optimize the position of the wind tower is proposed. The boundary conditions of numerical simulation are set based on specification parameters, the overall trend is consistent with the measured data, and therefore the simulation accuracy could meet the requirement. Four wind tower positions were set at the test site. According to the simulation results, the root-mean-square error (RMSE) of wind speed between point P2 and the antenna position is the smallest. So, the measured data in P2 could better represent the wind field characteristics of the antenna area.     

基于数值模拟的射电望远镜台址测风塔位置优选方法研究

射电望远镜天线结构设计和观测任务的正常进行都需要台址风场信息.随着望远镜性能要求的提高,天线结构设计越来越复杂,风载荷对天线观测时造成的指向影响也越发明显,如何在设计时保证结构刚度和强度,在观测时提高有效观测时间,都需要准确的风场数据.由于传统台址测风塔布置方法无法对测风塔拟设点的可靠性做出定量化评估,因此提出一种基于数值模拟优化测风塔位置的方法.数值模拟基于规范参数设置边界条件,与实测数据比较,整体趋势吻合,满足精度需求.对试验台址设置了4个测风塔位置,经分析P2点与天线位置的风速均方根误差值(root-mean-square error, RMSE)最小,测得的数据更能表征天线区域的风场特性.     

Correction Method of Antenna Pointing Error Caused by the Main Reflector Deformation

The pointing accuracy of a radio telescope is usually less than one-tenth of its antenna beam width. For large-aperture antennas at the short-centimeter band or millimeter-wave band, the pointing accuracy must be as high as several arc seconds. Therefore, for large-diameter and high-frequency reflector antennas, the pointing problem has become an important focal point to realize the antenna performance. Among many structural subsystem factors that affect the antenna pointing accuracy, there has been only less study on the factor of main reflector deformation. Based on the structural characteristics of the antenna, a reflector space coordinate system is established in this paper. And based on the space coordinates of the main reflector surface points after deformation, a non-linear least squares fitting method with 3 degrees of freedom is proposed to accurately predict the antenna pointing. Finally, the space geometric relationship is used to strictly derive the precise adjustments on the elevation and azimuth in order for correcting the antenna pointing error, and the indirect relationship between the main reflector deformation and the pointing error is constructed. This has certain guiding significance for improving the pointing accuracy of large radio antennas.     

Study on the pointing model of a slant-axis terahertz antenna

This paper describes the establishment and verification of an accurate pointing model for a1.2 m aperture slant-axis terahertz antenna. A new analytical pointing model for the slant-axis antenna is presented based on an analogy to that of the alt-azimuth antennas. Furthermore, extra error terms are added to the pointing model based on the structure and mechanical analysis of the slant-axis antenna. To verify the pointing model experimentally, a pointing error measurement method based on photogrammetric techniques is proposed. Using this method, pointing behaviors of the antenna are accurately measured without the aid of astronomical observations, and major sources of the pointing errors are measured individually by photogrammetry and their respective coefficients are compared with those in the analytical pointing model.The results show that an extended pointing model consisting 21 error terms can significantly reduce the residual systematic errors compared with the traditional model, more details are given in the following sections.     

Analysis and Correction of the Influence of Track Irregularity on the Antenna Pointing

According to the influence mechanism of the antenna track irregularity on the telescope pointing accuracy, the distribution of the track errors and their influence on the pointing of the Urumqi Nanshan 26 m telescope are reanalyzed after the antenna track was reformed by using the whole-body welding technology, and hereby the pointing error model is correspondingly revised. By using the moving least-squares method, the measured height errors of the antenna track plane are fitted with a closed curve, and the tilt of the antenna azimuth axis caused by the track irregularity can be determined accordingly. Comparing it with the measured deviation of the antenna azimuth axis caused by the deformation of antenna pedestal, it can be found that both deviations are strongly correlated. A new pointing error model is established in view of the gravity deformation of antenna pedestal, which includes the north-south and east-west components, as well as the antenna track irregularity. Finally, by scanning a known calibration radio source at different positions in the sky, the measured pointing errors are fitted with the new pointing error model. The result shows that the sinusoidal component of the model error can be well constrained by the new pointing correction model, indicating that the new model can reflect very well the antenna pointing error, and can amend it to a certain extend.