Comparing composite materials with structural steels in the design of the optical support structure of very large telescopes

The method of finite element analysis is used to study some candidate composite materials: carbon filter reinforced epoxy and glass fiber reinforced epoxy. These composites may have real applications in the design of the optical support structures of very large telescopes where stringent thermomechanical stability are needed. The lightweight property of these materials allows one to build very stiff members for the optical support to withstand the structural deflections due to wind, vibration, and gravity. We have run finite element models of these composites using ABAQUS on a VAX VMS computer. Simple beams with rectangular cross- sections were computed for the composites with structural steel as a comparison. The static properties of these beams were studied.