Great Wall Network·Jiyun Client, June 9 (Reporter Li Daijiao, Correspondent Li Yanru) On the morning of June 9, the main structure of the "Capture Baricon Acoustic Oscillation Signal (BINGO) Radio Telescope in the Universe" was shipped in Shijiazhuang, marking the successful completion of the design and manufacturing of the BINGO radio telescope and officially entering the integration stage. It is reported that the main body of the radio telescope shipped this time will set sail from Tianjin Port and arrive at Suape Port in Brazil after nearly two months.
BINGO (Baryon acoustic oscillations for Integrated Neutral Gas Observations) radio telescope is dedicated to observing cosmic neutral hydrogen gas to capture baryon acoustic oscillations. Since there are a large number of neutral hydrogen gases in the universe, by studying the spectral lines of hydrogen, we can understand the distribution of hydrogen in the universe, thereby better understanding the structure and evolution of the universe. The BINGO radio telescope will be built in Paraiba, Brazil, next to the Amazon forest. It is a large single-aperture radio telescope dedicated to observing neutral hydrogen gas in the universe. It has an extremely important role and significance for international space research.
BINGO telescope renderings.
BINGO radio telescope is a major international cooperation project in the fields of radio astronomy and space science, and is completed by China and scientific researchers from Brazil, the United Kingdom, France, Switzerland and other countries. As the core participant unit in the Chinese team, Netcom Institute is responsible for the design and manufacturing of the main structure of the radio telescope.
Reflection surface accuracy is a key indicator of radio telescopes. The higher the accuracy of the reflective surface, the more efficient the observation, it can effectively improve the clarity of the field of view and also improve the ability to capture signals such as celestial motion. "BINGO radio telescope adopts a double bias structure, divided into main reflector and sub-reflector. The diameter of the main reflector is 40 meters, the diameter of the secondary reflector is 36 meters, the main reflector face-shaped accuracy is ≤3 mm, and the sub-reflector face-shaped accuracy is ≤4 mm." Wang Dawei, chief designer of the BINGO project, introduced that the shape of each panel is different due to the bias structure of the BINGO telescope. If the panel is made according to conventional methods, it will cost over 100 million yuan to be used for mold alone. In order to meet the project cost, the project team comprehensively considered the working frequency and electrical indicators of the telescope, repeatedly considered and verified, and finally determined to use the method of multi-plane splicing to approximate the curved surface, and designed the main and secondary reflective surfaces in block design.
After dividing the main and secondary reflecting surfaces into small pieces, the size of the single panel becomes another major problem. Wang Dawei said: "The panel design inspiration of BINGO radio telescope comes from another radio telescope FAST (500-meter diameter spherical radio telescope) we developed. After block design, the size of the single panel must be the right size to be the optimal solution." According to reports, if the size of a single panel is too large, the number of blocks will be small and the surface shape accuracy will not meet the requirements; on the contrary, if the single panel is too small, it will lead to too many panels, and the support points of the steel structure supporting the panel will increase, which will not only increase the overall weight of the antenna, but also increase the installation difficulty. To this end, the project team communicated repeatedly with the Brazilian team, maintaining high-frequency technical contacts, and made the optimal panel block design plan after 2 months. The final main reflective surface consists of 20 ring panels, with a total of 20 sizes, with a total of 528 panels; the secondary reflective surface consists of 33 ring panels, with a total of 33 sizes, with a total of 708 panels.
Technicians perform panel measurements.
Reflective panels require solid steel structures to support. Since the steel structure needs to be assembled by Brazil after it crosses the ocean to the other side of the ocean, the use of traditional welded structure will greatly increase the difficulty and cost of transportation. After careful consideration, the project team decided to adopt a space bolt ball mesh structure. This structure consists of rods and balls. The advantages are reasonable stress, high space performance, and convenient installation.
The main reflector consists of 4237 steel pipes and 1111 bolt balls, the secondary reflector consists of 3970 steel pipes and 576 bolt balls, and the feed tower consists of 1502 steel pipes and 841 angle steel. With so many steel pipes, it is extremely difficult to splice and install. Some steel pipes are as long as 12 meters long. Once they are assembled incorrectly, they need to be removed and started over. In order to ensure that tens of thousands of steel pipes are installed in the correct position, the project team has continuously optimized the steel structure form for several months, reduced the types of steel pipes from the initial planned 15 to 7, and marked a unique number on each steel pipe, effectively reducing the installation difficulty and making the entire steel structure design clearer and clearer.
After this batch of structures arrives at the Brazilian site, the BINGO radio telescope will officially enter the construction stage, and Netcom Institute will send craft personnel to the site to guide the assembly work. According to reports, after completion and activation, the BINGO radio telescope will perform rapid radio signal scanning to detect important signals sent from the deep space of the universe, thereby revealing the mysteries of the universe structure and dark energy.
