Collaborative design and modeling of complex opto-mechanical systems

Abstract

In this article, we propose a concurrent design methodology that employs physics-based high fidelity computational models together with analysis methods to predict the performance of complex opto-mechanical systems. For this purpose, we developed a web-based collaborative design and modeling environment for the simulation of complex opto-mechanical systems (SIMCOMS). The analysis tools and the methodology presented in this article provide a systematic and quantitative way to investigate the end-to-end system performance of such systems, perform sensitivity analysis, and identify the critical components of the system that degrade the performance. The SIMCOMS integrates all the modeling and analysis tools in a common MATLAB computational environment and it can be accessed through standard web browsers. Through the use of structural, optical, and controls modules, SIMCOMS allows modeling and SIMCOMS. The analysis modules of SIMCOMS provide the means for predicting the performance of such systems and diagnosing the problematic components that degrade the performance. The web interface of SIMCOMS provides a flexible and robust environment for designing such complex opto-mechanical systems and keeps an archive of models to compare different design configurations. The design can be conducted concurrently by multidisciplinary teams located physically at different sites, which leads to savings in time and cost. We demonstrated the use of SIMCOMS through a case study which includes the redesign process of a siderostat mirror; one of the main optical components of the SIM PlanetQuest (formerly called Space Interferometry Mission). SIM will determine the positions and distances of stars several hundred times more accurately than any previous program. SIM provides a good example case for testing the functionality of SIMCOMS since the precise tolerance required by the SIM instrument facilitates the investigation of many design options, trades, and methods for minimizing interaction between the actively controlled optics and the structure.