Predicting the aerodynamic performance of the Canadian Very Large Optical Telescope

摘要

A variety of aerodynamic studies have been completed to assist in the development of an integrated model for the Thirty Meter Telescope. These studies investigated the characteristics of wind loading on the Canadian Very Large Optical Telescope (VLOT) and produced preliminary data for input into the VLOT integrated model. We describe the details of, and present the results from, the computational fluid dynamic (CFD) analyses and wind tunnel (WT) tests. The validity of the CFD results is assessed through correlation studies that compare the CFD and WT results. Through extensive comparison of the mean and RMS coefficients of pressure and the power spectral density plots of the pressures within the enclosure, excellent correlations between the experimental and computational results are shown.