Structural-Thermal-Optical-Performance (STOP) Model Development and Analysis of a Field-widened Michelson Interferometer

An integrated Structural-Thermal-Optical-Performance (STOP) model was developed for a field-widened Michelson interferometer which is being built and tested for the High Spectral Resolution Lidar (HSRL) project at NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC). The performance of the interferometer is highly sensitive to thermal expansion, changes in refractive index with temperature, temperature gradients, and deformation due to mounting stresses. Hand calculations can only predict system performance for uniform temperature changes. An integrated STOP Simulation Template was developed to automate and investigate the effects of design modifications on the performance of the interferometer in detail, including CTE mismatch, and other three- dimensional effects.

The STOP Template was developed using the Comet SimApp Authoring Workspace which performs automated integration between Pro-Engineer®, Thermal Desktop®, MSC Nastran™, SigFit™, Code V™, and MATLAB®. This is the first flight project for which LaRC has utilized Comet, and it allows a larger trade space to be studied in a shorter time than would be possible in a traditional STOP analysis. This paper describes the development of the STOP Template, presents a comparison of STOP results for simple cases with hand calculations, and presents results of the correlation effort to bench-top testing of the interferometer. A trade study conducted with the STOP model which demonstrates a few simple design changes that can improve the performance seen in the lab is also presented.

This paper was published in the 2014 Conference Proceedings of the SPIE.

This third and final installment is focuses on a revolutionary new generation of fit-for-purpose, product-specific and often user-organization-specific simulation “apps.” By placing advanced simulation and analysis technologies “under the hood” from the user’s perspective, simulation apps are making unprecedented powers of automated design exploration, optimization, synthesis and validation accessible, usable and safe for non-analyst engineers and designers across a wide and still growing range of products and industries.

What if there was a way to capture and embed the tangible knowledge and intangible judgement of your CAE experts throughout the product development team?  SimApps from Comet Solutions are driving new product development by democratizing simulation.

Siemens PLM Community
June, 2016

A Structural-Thermal-Optical-Performance (STOP) analysis is an interdisciplinary analysis used to verify optical requirements. It is performed to identify and solve design issues early before building hardware. In a traditional STOP analysis, data must flow sequentially from engineer to engineer, requiring multiple data handoffs, which are time-consuming. If the STOP analysis shows that design changes are necessary, trade studies can also be time-consuming.

Tech Briefs
February, 2016

American Axle & Manufacturing Sees Dramatic Productivity Gains, Cost Savings from Automating NVH Analysis Process with Comet NVH Driveline SimApp

Bruce Jenkins, Principal Analyst, Ora Research, LLC
September, 2015

This third and final installment is focuses on a revolutionary new generation of fit-for-purpose, product-specific and often user-organization-specific simulation “apps.” By placing advanced simulation and analysis technologies “under the hood” from the user’s perspective, simulation apps are making unprecedented powers of automated design exploration, optimization, synthesis and validation accessible, usable and safe for non-analyst engineers and designers across a wide and still growing range of products and industries.