Determining stress-based bending mode limits for the Vera C. Rubin Observatory M1M3 active mirror system

Abstract: The Vera C. Rubin Observatory Simonyi Survey Telescope's primary-tertiary mirror (M1M3) is an actively supported, 8.4-m cast borosilicate optic controlled by 156 pneumatic actuators. This work presents a rapid stress-estimation methodology based on the root-sum-square (RSS) combination of Finite Element Analysis to derive pre-computed unit bending mode stresses. Since the stress is proportional to strain, and strain is proportional to displacements, we theorized that since the bending mode displacements can be combined RSS, that the peak stresses would also combine by RSS. We validate the RSS-based major principal stress predictions against NASTRAN simulations for representative bending mode combinations, demonstrating agreement within a few percent for peak Principal major stress across the mirror glass substrate. Unit displacement and corresponding unit stress fields for the first 20 natural bending modes of the M1M3 system are generated using NASTRAN. Representative multi-mode corrections including combinations that include astigmatism, coma, and spherical modes of higher order are then analyzed to compare the resulting peak principal stresses with RSS-based predictions. The method enables near instantaneous evaluation of stress margins for active optics corrections, safety-limit checking, and actuator-force optimization during telescope operations. This paper outlines the formulation, implementation workflow, validation results, and practical use cases for integrating RSS-based stress prediction into the Vera C. Rubin Observatory's M1M3 active optics system.