The work carried out in the Ph.D. program focused on developing the optics design of the Atmospheric Remote-Sensing Infrared Exoplanet Large Survey (Ariel) telescope, an optical/infrared mission of the European Space Agency (ESA), whose primary mirror is an off-axis paraboloid mirror measuring 1.2 · 0.7m. The novelty of the telescope is that both the mirrors and the telescope structure will be made of aluminium, and the primary mirror will be made of bare aluminium without a thick hard coating. The choice is mainly due to the thermo-mechanical properties of the material, and the usage of the same material for the whole structure will allow better heat exchange between the mirror and the optical bench. Furthermore, the cost of aluminium is lower than other materials commonly used for infrared optics (Silicon carbide, Beryllium, or Zerodur). This thesis is part of the de-risking activity of the mission to bring the telescope elements, and in particular, the primary mirror to the required Technology Readiness Level (TRL); here are described the problems that arose for the use of aluminium, the testing and development of processes to make this material performant with activities carried out at Media Lario S.r.l. (ML) Most of the work was focused on the processes considered most risky: Heat Treatment (HT), Diamond Turning (DT), Polishing, and Thin Silver (Ag) Coating. The second part of the thesis is devoted to some managerial aspects of the project, aspects particularly relevant for a complex mission such as Ariel. The general management of the payload consortium is under the responsibility of the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL), while the Italian management is under the responsibility of the Università di Firenze with the Isti tuto Nazionale Di Astrofisica (INAF) team. In this phase, the focus was on producing verification documents for ESA and RAL and managing the search for companies to perform further tests and treatments of the aluminium.
Development of processes, qualification, and de-risking for the Ariel primary mirror
GUERRIERO, Elisa
2022
Abstract
The work carried out in the Ph.D. program focused on developing the optics design of the Atmospheric Remote-Sensing Infrared Exoplanet Large Survey (Ariel) telescope, an optical/infrared mission of the European Space Agency (ESA), whose primary mirror is an off-axis paraboloid mirror measuring 1.2 · 0.7m. The novelty of the telescope is that both the mirrors and the telescope structure will be made of aluminium, and the primary mirror will be made of bare aluminium without a thick hard coating. The choice is mainly due to the thermo-mechanical properties of the material, and the usage of the same material for the whole structure will allow better heat exchange between the mirror and the optical bench. Furthermore, the cost of aluminium is lower than other materials commonly used for infrared optics (Silicon carbide, Beryllium, or Zerodur). This thesis is part of the de-risking activity of the mission to bring the telescope elements, and in particular, the primary mirror to the required Technology Readiness Level (TRL); here are described the problems that arose for the use of aluminium, the testing and development of processes to make this material performant with activities carried out at Media Lario S.r.l. (ML) Most of the work was focused on the processes considered most risky: Heat Treatment (HT), Diamond Turning (DT), Polishing, and Thin Silver (Ag) Coating. The second part of the thesis is devoted to some managerial aspects of the project, aspects particularly relevant for a complex mission such as Ariel. The general management of the payload consortium is under the responsibility of the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL), while the Italian management is under the responsibility of the Università di Firenze with the Isti tuto Nazionale Di Astrofisica (INAF) team. In this phase, the focus was on producing verification documents for ESA and RAL and managing the search for companies to perform further tests and treatments of the aluminium.File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14242/105068
URN:NBN:IT:UNIPA-105068