ESO

ESO (European Southern Observatory) is currently working on the development of an optical / near-infrared telescope - European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT). When the E-ELT is completed in 2024, it will, with a main mirror as much as 39 meters in diameter, be the world's largest. With the new telescope, scientists expect to discover unprecedented planets and solar systems. ESO has used Kirkholm's expertise in mechanics and fluid dynamics (CFD) to solve a significant challenge in the hunt for razor-sharp images of distant galaxies.

DEVELOPMENT OF THE WORLD'S LARGEST TELESCOPE REQUIRES HIGHLY QUALIFIED EXPERTS

The E-ELT project is motivated by a wide range of scientific challenges that have affected modern astronomy. The design of the telescope itself also presents challenges - many of which border on the technically impossible.

ESO, which is behind the ambitious project, is pulling on some of the world's best engineers to achieve the goal. One of the main challenges is to maintain the shape of the 39 meter large main mirror, which consists of a total of 798 hexagonal mirror segments, each of which can be adjusted to maintain the shape of the mirror. The temperature difference between the top and bottom of the giant mirror can cause it to expand unevenly and give rise to broken or distorted precision of the telescope.

KIRKHOLM'S ANALYSIS PATHS THE WAY TO THE SOLUTION

ESO needed to anticipate the need for corrections of such temperature differences in overtime, and to get there one needed a reliable and detailed analysis of the thermal conditions over the course of a day around both surfaces of the mirror. Kirkholm's computational experts were put to the task and performed CFD simulations (computational fluid dynamics) with the aim of providing detailed analyzes of how the mirror heats up over time. Kirkholm's results now allow ESO to design automatic systems for controlling the temperatures inside the dome containing the telescope. In this way, consistent optical accuracy can be ensured.